(Cleveland) - Cuyahoga County election results weren't finalized and posted online until 4:15 a.m. Wednesday, nearly nine hours after the polls closed. When WTAM asked, we were given a written statement, attributed to Board of Elections Director Anthony Perlatti:
Prior to the August 2023 Special Election, the CCBOE (Cuyahoga County Board of Elections) would only capture the numeric voting totals when scanning voters’ ballots. This made for quicker ballot tabulation processing and reporting.
Going forward from the August 2023 Primary Election, the CCBOE is required to capture images of all ballots scanned in an Election in addition to the numeric totals. Voters in Cuyahoga County had a 2 or 3 sheet ballot depending on the voters residing precinct in this election. This equated to approximately 1 million ballot images being processed in the November 7, 2023 General Election. The combination of numeric totals and ballot images being processed led to a lengthier processing time on Election Night. No problems existed with the system and the CCBOE will be working with the voting equipment vendor to find solutions on a go forward basis to increase the internal processing times while maintaining the accuracy and integrity of the voting system and election tabulation.
We asked in an email if this was a state-directed mandate, and were told, "yes."
Click here to read the results from Cuyahoga County.
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