Who certifies the election results in my state?

Certification happens in two stages, local then state. The canvass is the official tally of every ballot, combining the totals from every precinct and voting method into one complete count. Certification follows as a separate step. A county or town canvassing board reviews and confirms the local results, and then a state officer or board certifies the statewide totals.

Deadlines are set by state law and vary considerably. The National Conference of State Legislatures reports local certification deadlines from 48 hours after polls close in Connecticut and Vermont to 27 days in Oregon and Washington. State certification ranges from immediately on completion in Alaska to December 1 in Kansas.

Florida requires local certification by noon on the 13th day. Michigan requires state certification by the 20th day. Georgia requires state certification by 5 p.m. on the 17th or 18th day. In several states an audit has to be finished first. Washington law requires the county auditor to conduct an audit prior to certification of the election.

Certification is a ministerial step that follows the canvass. Campaign Legal Center describes it as a mandatory and purely ministerial process in which officials confirm that the election process has concluded, at both the local and state levels.

State statutes write the same rule into law. In Michigan, state law makes it the ministerial, clerical and nondiscretionary duty of each board of county canvassers to certify results based solely on the returns from precincts, early voting sites and absent voter counting boards. The same duty applies to the Board of State Canvassers and each of its members, based solely on the certified statements of votes from the counties.

For congressional elections, officials canvass the votes, certify the result, and the state issues a certificate of election. Each state sends the certificate to the Clerk of the U.S. House, who uses it to compose the roll of Representatives-elect. Under the Twentieth Amendment, Representatives' terms begin at noon on January 3, and Congress assembles at noon that day unless it appoints a different day by law. According to House Practice, until a Member-elect takes the oath of office, that person does not enjoy all the rights and prerogatives of a Member and cannot vote or introduce bills.