EXPLAINER: Trying to get politics out of election certifying

ATLANTA (AP) — Before the 2020 presidential election, certifying election results in the states was routine and generated little public attention. That has changed.

Attempts to delay presidential certification in Michigan in 2020 and in local balloting in New Mexico earlier this year have brought new scrutiny — after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack shined a bright light on certification at the national level.

Members of certification boards have raised unsubstantiated claims of fraud or other wrongdoing, focusing new attention on a process that could be manipulated if either side didn’t like an election outcome.

Whether partisan actors might try to block or delay certification at the local or state level is a growing concern among election officials, both for the upcoming November midterm voting and then the 2024 presidential election. Here is how election officials prepare for certification, who is involved and what might happen if a county refuses to certify its results.

HOW ELECTION OFFICIALS PREPARE FOR CERTIFICATION

Voting is over when polls close on Election Day, but the work to count and verify the results is just beginning. Through the canvass and certification process, local election officials check to ensure all votes were cast and counted correctly before results become official.

The canvass includes checking lists of voters in pollbooks against the number of ballots cast and researching any discrepancies. Those often are due to clerical errors or mistakes such as someone failing to sign the pollbook.

“There are all these little human errors that can happen that could lead to mismatch or discrepancies in the accounting,” said Jennifer Morrell, a former local election official who now advises election offices. “Best practice is to show them and do your...