MISSOULA — There are a lot of steps in an election, with some coming after all the votes have been tallied from the Tuesday, Nov. 5 election.
One of those steps is the certification of the count which takes place on Nov. 18, 2024.
The people who certify the count of the votes are three county elected officials — typically county commissioners — who make up what is called the canvas board.
The role of the canvas board is to make sure that the number of votes counted aligns with the number of votes cast and that any major discrepancies are resolved.
Missoula County Commissioner Dave Stohmaier, who is a member of the canvas board, told MTN that such errors often take the form of simple mistakes; someone leaving parts of a ballot blank or voting for both candidates in a race.
The board holds the power to inspect ballots or call for a recount if any major issues come up.
“From time to time there have been recounts. It’s pretty infrequent, it’s a high bar you need to cross for that. More often than not what we will do is review what apparent errors or discrepancies there might be,” explained Strohmaier.
