Practical Civics

By the end of the day November 3, we will all (I hope) have been to the polls or submitted our mail-in ballots. But what happens after you cast your votes? Below is a little taste of what goes on behind the scenes on the local, state, and federal levels.

The Caroline County Board of Elections, located at the Health Department building in Denton, oversees election administration in the county. See last month’s Practical Civics column for more about that.

For the 2026 general election, the county’s schedule includes a post-election mail-in ballot canvass on November 5, followed by a provisional ballot canvass on November 12, and then another mail-in ballot canvass on November 13. During canvassing, election officials review mail-in and provisional ballots to make sure voters filled out the proper paperwork, met voter eligibility requirements, and followed other standard procedures. Canvassing meetings are open to public observation under established rules. Caroline County will also conduct a risk-limiting audit, which is basically manually counting a sample of votes and comparing the results with those recorded by voting equipment.

The county’s Board of Elections then sends the results to the Maryland State Board of Elections, which oversees the statewide election system. State officials publish results as counties report them, but it’s important to remember that results released on election night are not necessarily final.

On November 3, Caroline County voters will also help decide who represents them for the next two years in the United States House of Representatives. Despite being a federal office, the state of Maryland administers its election, with the state and county boards carrying out the counting, review, and certification procedures provided by the Constitution and federal laws. Therefore, these results will still be published in real time by the state of Maryland.

All of these steps eventually culminate in the certification of election results, which can take days or weeks to complete. While waiting for the official certification can be frustrating, these checks and balances are all a part of keeping our democracy fair and intact.

You can find the county’s canvassing schedule and audit information through the Caroline County Board of Election’s website.