Do county boards get to decide whether to certify?

The Texas Election Code, chapter 67, requires that precinct returns be canvassed. Each local canvassing authority must convene to conduct the local canvass not later than the 11th day after election day, under Tex. Elec. Code 67.003(b).

In Pennsylvania, citing 25 P.S. 3154, the Brennan Center reports that county boards must certify the returns to the secretary of the commonwealth regardless of any fraudulent or erroneous returns presented to them. In Arizona, the county board of supervisors has a mandatory, nondiscretionary duty to canvass and certify, and A.R.S. 16-642(A)(1) requires the canvass of a general election no later than the third Thursday after the election.

Certification is a ministerial duty, not a policy decision. In Pennsylvania, board duties under the Election Code are ministerial and allow for no exercise of discretion. In Arizona, the duty to canvass and certify is described as mandatory and nondiscretionary.