Dept. of Elections: Nighttime report showed no major issues Tuesday, but total voter turnout numbers still coming in

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Virginia elections officials confirmed Tuesday night at 9 p.m. that voting in-person Tuesday overall went along smoothly.

Piper emphasized that the numbers for total turnout — and how they compare to the 2016 presidential election — are still unclear because the numbers are still coming in.

Registrars offices may have a better idea of those numbers Wednesday morning.

Piper also said the response of state and local elections officials during the coronavirus pandemic contributed to a smooth Election Day.

“When we were first dealing with the pandemic, we were reading headlines about whether we could hold elections in the midst of this pandemic. And I’m very proud of Virginia, and the rest of the country, for all that we did to get to this day. It was a team effort and all the work we did paid off,” Piper said.

Piper said the state is “seeing what we anticipated,” that the in-person same-day votes are coming in and being reported. By the time Piper started the 9 p.m. briefing, more than 1,700 precincts were reporting.

Piper reminded Virginians of the timeline for counting the ballots.

The Department of Elections gave localities a cutoff time of 11 p.m. on Tuesday to stop processing ballots and report those numbers. Counting will resume on Wednesday.

Piper said that absentee ballots will be accepted until Friday, Nov. 6, at noon — if postmarked on or before Election Day — and as a result, counting may continue through the week. CAP totals will be updated by the new deadline Friday, Nov. 6.

Localities will certify their results on Nov. 10, and the State Board of Elections will meet Nov. 16 for the final certification.

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — As of 4 p.m., the Department of Elections said that Election Day continued to run smoothly throughout Virginia.

During the 4 p.m. briefing, Elections Commissioner Chris Piper said there were no major issues at the polling stations and the lines continued to move without major delays.

Watch the full 4 p.m. briefing here:

A higher volume of voters was expected between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., according to Piper. Voters were encouraged to check with their polling location for any additional updates. Additionally, there had been no indications of “voter intimidation” or related conflicts or issues at the polls.

Election night results started to populate after polls closed at 7 p.m. Mail in voting and early in-person voting will be reported in each locality’s Central Absentee Precinct (CAP). Absentee ballots can be scanned, marked and received prior to Election Day, and no vote totals can be determined until after the polls have closed.

The Department of Elections gave localities a cutoff time of 11 p.m. on Tuesday to stop processing ballots and report those numbers. Counting will resume on Wednesday.

Piper said that absentee ballots will be accepted until Friday, Nov. 6, at noon — if postmarked on or before Election Day — and as a result, counting may continue through the week. CAP totals will be updated by the new deadline Friday, Nov. 6.

Localities will certify their results on Nov. 10, and the State Board of Elections will meet Nov. 16 for the final certification.

Following the briefing, Piper responded to an inquiry about Kanye West’s name being on certain ballots in Caroline County as a candidate. Piper said that ballots already printed in Virginia before West’s name was ordered to be removed, did not have to be destroyed therefore, some localities may still see West’s name on the ballots.

The next briefing will also be the last and will begin at 9 p.m.

Piper said in the 11 a.m. briefing there were some “minor issues” with machines in the early morning at some polling places, but said those were quickly resolved and at no point was voting interrupted in the commonwealth. Piper said 46% percent of registered voters have already cast their ballots in Virginia, about 68 percent of Virginia’s total turnout in 2016.

Watch the full 11 a.m. briefing here:

1.8 million ballots were cast early in-person and 956,000 by were by mail.

Election Day updates: Voters turn out early across Hampton Roads, Dept. of Election to share updates

Piper said there had also been no reports of voter intimidation at any polling locations across the state and lines overall have been relatively short and efficient.

RELATED: What should you do if you see something wrong or unsafe at the polls?

He also said people should be prepared for a long night and a long week as election officials across the country work to make sure every ballot is counted. President Trump has falsely claimed that the result of elections are clearly known by the night of Election Day, suggesting ballots shouldn’t be counted after Election Day as he sets the groundwork to contest election results.

That’s never been the case in the U.S. Ballots have always been counted well after midnight on Nov. 3, including in Virginia. That’s something Piper alluded to on Tuesday.

“We in elections have always spent time to make sure every ballot is counted and we’re going to do that just like we’ve done with every single election because every ballot matters, and every ballot should count.”

News organizations do call races the night of Election Day based on projections, but votes are still being counted past that point, with certification deadlines ranging from two days to a month after the election. However projections are expected to be tricky this year, due to the high number of mail-in votes to process and record turnout.

Virginia does count ballots as they come in, meaning there’s a higher chance to project a winner early, but several states — including crucial swing states Pennsylvania and Ohio — don’t start counting ballots until after polls close.

Piper said as of this morning, their stats show about 300,000 absentee ballots still have to be processed. He said they’re confident the state’s registrars will get through a large number of those by this evening, and that figure is about the same as Virginia saw in 2016.

Stay with WAVY-TV 10 and WAVY.com for the latest.

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