Here in UK all polls are done by with paper ballots. When polls close there is a big push to get the boxes in the right place and votes counted quick. If a recount is needed its done then an there, it causes a hold up but nothing major.
Polls close at 10pm and by midnight-ish the results start coming in. In some places like highlands & islands it takes longer (transport and weather) but usually by 4am–ish everything is fully counted and announced. Its unusual to still be going at it after 5/6 am. And yes - we’ve had some very close races lately.
My confusion is, its not really that different to how its done in Mississippi. How is it possible to still be counting votes 3 days later??
I’ve been keeping an eye on the news but I’m finding it difficult to get a clear answer. What the hell is taking so long???
Not sure about Mississippi, but a common method in other states and for postal votes is 2 envelopes. The outer one includes the voter’s full info to be verified. The inner envelope contains their ballot. The outer envelope must be fully verified or rejected, then the inner envelope is sent to either the pile of votes to be counted, or the pile to be destroyed unopened.
Yes, a bad actor could skip process and identify how a person votes, but it would be obvious to everyone else in the room (and there are many people in the room watching for exactly this type of behavior).
Ohhh, provisional mail votes! That makes more sense. We have that system in the Netherlands too, with double envelopes
There can be provisional in person ballots too. You give the voter an envelope to put the ballot in until the provisional status is resolved that hides the votes of the voter.
They’re two different concepts, but there’s a lot of overlap in the details. Each one must be fully verified before it can be accepted. Provisional usually means their eligibility couldn’t be verified at the polling station on election day, for a variety of reasons, but this lets them cast a vote before the deadline while the rest gets sorted out later.