A look behind the scenes at the Santa Barbara County Elections office shows where ballots are processed

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. - After you vote on your election ballot and turn it in, that will be the last time you see it. Behind the scenes multiple election workers may handle it before it actually gets counted.

"We're very open and transparent about how it works," said Chief Deputy Registrar of Voters, Michael Daly. He walked our NewsChannel team through the exact route a ballot goes through once it is received.

That includes verifying a signature, opening the envelope, laying the ballot out, checking for any damages, and then running it through a machine that will ultimately reveal what the vote is. The voting totals with the ballots received and verified on election night will be released after the polls close at 8 p.m.

All the uncounted ballots up to that time will be counted after the polls close.

The technology used in Santa Barbara County is capable of matching the signature on your ballot with the one that is on file in the elections office. If there is any change in the signature, there is a closer review and even a comparison to the signature from previous elections. A voter could also be contacted to come in and verify it was their signature.

Daly said these kind of issues and the process the department follows insures there is a fair election and all votes will be counted.

A special machine opens the envelope and inside the ballot is taken out by hand. Daly watched the process and said he's making sure he pulls the ballot out, and if there is anything else in there he might separate it if it is something that's not ballot material.

As of Thursday morning, with about 240,000 ballots out right now, roughly 40,000 have been turned in. That's considered slower than what was expected. Overall, elections officials say based on past general elections, a turnout of about 80 percent will likely take place.

They also expect long lines at the precincts on election day until the polls close at 8 p.m. If you are in line you will be able to vote or your completed ballot can be accepted.

Some of the staff have done the election work for years. Some are hired just for this election. Daly said, "it's not just the full-time staff that have a sense of civic duty and pride and dedication and commitment to the democratic process. And there's not a person in here that doesn't understand the importance of that and the gravity of it. Everybody in here cares."

The ballots are coming in from countywide locations but some are picked up or turned in right on the property, where the election process is actively taking place.

One of the things that can be done right now at the elections office is, you can come in, go to the counter, get your ballot, vote it, turn it in, and be done. Some people will do that if they are registering to vote on the spot, or if they have damaged their vote by mail ballot. Only one ballot is accepted by the system. There is a secure bar code for each voter. Any other attempted to vote more than once is a felony.

The election process is also quicker these days with the new technology if you vote on election day. It can find you in the system in moments. Daly said at the precincts, instead of going through a paper roster of names, "when they check in at a polling pace to vote, we are getting that check in, in real time," through a special electronic voting pad.

Between now and the release of results at 8 p.m. on November 5th, the ballot counting machines still read zero and have been closely checked.

"It's not loaded with anything, it is not connected to the internet, it's very secure.  You can see we have tamper evidence tape over the boxes." The machine he referred to is scanning the ballots, but it will not produce results until the polls are closed. It is able to tell elections workers how many ballots have come in and are ready.

For those who have never seen this process he says, "especially newer folks (who say), 'I did not know that it was this, you know, this is what happens and how it goes down.'  It's in fact, very secure."