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News with a Local Lens

These states and counties are live streaming ballot counting online
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These states and counties are live streaming ballot counting online

  • Allegations of voter fraud have continued since 2020, paving the way for distrust of the 2024 results.
  • All election offices allow observers, but some also offer live video feeds.
  • In Arizona, state law requires live video wherever votes are counted.

Claims of voter fraud have never stood up to the standards of truth required in court, but they continue to be amplified on social media and have been used in the 2024 election campaigns. Ballot counting is on point to begin, and in a number of states, election offices are combatting myths about election interference by inviting the public to watch their processes via live video broadcasts.

In Arizona, a swing state that has suffered more unfounded fraud claims than most others, state law requires live video feed into rooms where ballots are being counted.


As became evident during the 2020 election, this openness presents the potential for viewers to misunderstand (or intentionally misinterpret) what they see. In 2020, some claimed that the video the pictures showedelection workers throw away ballots or engage in fraudulent behavior.

The most costly result of such misperception is almost 150 million dollars judgment against Rudi Giuliani for defamation of two Georgian election officials. He falsely claimed the video showed a mother passing a USB drive to her daughter to scan ballots hidden in suitcases. In fact, the mother transmitted a ginger mint.

Despite the risk of deliberate misinterpretation, many localities have decided that transparency and last-minute oversight are worth it. Here are some places where it is possible to follow the vote count live.

Arizona

A page on Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes’ website includes links to tabulation rooms. in every county. These streams will be live when the countdown begins.

LA County, California.

LA County, home to nearly 6 million registered voters, offers live stream of its voting processes. Mail-in ballots can be counted up to 29 days before Election Day. Verification may take up to 30 days.

Clatsop County, ore.

The county clerk and elections office in Clatsop, Oregon will provide live streaming of all phases of ballot processing, from receiving and verifying signatures to counting.

Delaware County, Pennsylvania.

Delaware County, the fifth most populous in a swing state in 2024, has been streaming videos since 10 different cameras.

King County, Washington.

Washington is a vote-by-mail state and every registered voter receives an absentee ballot. The day before the election, 47 percent of registered voters had already voted. King County Deals multiple live viewssorting, opening and scanning.

Screenshot of people sitting at desks in rows with computers under a sign reading: "Verification of signatures."

A view of the signature verification of a King County, Washington, live broadcast.

(King County)

Carl Smith is a senior editor for Governing and covers a wide range of state and local issues. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @governingwriter.