RANDOLPH COUNTY, N.C. — Now that election day is over election officials in counties across the state are tasked with certifying the votes.
Randolph county board of elections director Melissa Johnson explained the importance of the certification process.
The county will spend 10 days checking ballots, forms signed by voters and confirming voter history.
The next part of the process is performing a sample audit on two of the precincts in the county.
She says a bipartisan team will come in and count ballots in those precincts to make sure the machine counted the right number of votes.
"The reason why this canvassing and reconciliation period is so important is to ensure that everything was done accurately, to make sure every ballot was cast and that it counts, and to make sure every person who voted gets that credit and that history for voting," Johnson said.
Johnson says with election fraud being a topic of conversation this process ensures the integrity of the system.
She says their team will receive help from poll workers to help with the sample audits.
That process is also open to the public she says that helps with transparency and trust so people can really see how the process plays out.
"It's important for the public to know that everything was done accurately and correctly and that we do have a process that has integrity and they can believe in the results," Johnson said.
The canvassing process must be done by Nov. 18th when counties meet with the state board of elections to officially certify the votes.
Johnson says she welcomes voters to call their office if they have any questions about that process.