CANTON -- With a record number of about 8,400 absentee ballots, St. Lawrence County election officials last week finally finished counting this year’s election results.

“Rest assured, the entire ballot counting process is secure and verifiable,” said Thomas A. Nichols, the county’s Republican Election Commissioner. “Every step must be verifiable.”

There are two key pieces that help build confidence in elections: transparency and respecting the election law’s intent, said Nichols.

“We need to welcome the public and press to observe and ask questions about our processes,” he said. “That knowledge dispels misinformation and fear of the unknown.”

“The election law is designed to help us provide continued confidence in the process, even when we do not like the outcome of an election. The underpinnings of our entire republic draw back to the cornerstone of elections,” said Nichols.

Ballots postmarked by Election Day and received by Nov. 10 at the county’s Board of Elections started to be processed Nov. 9. After absentee ballots have been counted, then election officials begin the affidavits.

“Multiple bipartisan teams work on every step that takes us from the information included in the petitions filed in April right up through the sealing of the machines prior to the election and the opening and removal of its contents after the election. Those varying teams are another way we reassure voters that the scanner works,” he said.

Democratic Commissioner Jennie H. Bacon worked with Republican Nichols as part of the Election Board’s bipartisan team overseeing the county’s election voting this year.

Republican Tom Hardiman and Democrat Gordon Ward, the county’s deputy election commissioners, worked as a team scanning the ballots on the first day of counting absentee ballots in Canton. Results are proofed by bipartisan teams.

“Ballots are fed through a high-speed scanner that takes a picture of each ballot. Both the ballot information and results are stored on two identical memory cards. At the end of the day, one card and the results tape are transported back by a one route using the Sheriff’s Dept. while the voting machines and other cards are returned using completely different routes,” he said. All these strategies help protect the end-result and should increase your confidence in the voting process,” said Nichols.

“Once returned, the memory card’s information is put into a dedicated server. It is strictly forbidden that our dedicated election server or any of the ballot scanners ever get connected to the internet. This peace of mind helps ensure no one can mess with the scanners,” said Nichols. “By following the law, everyone is protected.”

“Election officials review the list of people who filed absentee ballots and later decided to vote in person. When the voter signs in to the polling place, the iPad immediately sends a message to the office telling us that a person ‘voted in person’. Anyone on the VIP list will have their absentee ballots removed from the main group of absentee ballots. Absentee ballots cannot be opened before the 7th day after the general election to ensure no one person can sneak in to vote more than once. Any voter who votes by affidavit in the wrong polling place will void their ballot. You may only vote in your polling place.”

“Processing the election day, absentee, and affidavit ballots takes time, because we want our results to be right and verifiable,” Nichols said. “If we rush, and the results don’t have any credibility or raise doubts in voter’s minds, then what have we truly accomplished?” Nichols said.