Election Day is over, but the work continues in Fulton County as officials move toward verifying ballots and certifying the results of the November 3 general election.
According to Fulton County election officials, Wednesday marks the earliest day workers can begin ballot reconciliation, a process designed to ensure the number of physical ballots matches the totals reported by voting equipment on Election Night.
If the numbers do not match, election officials must investigate the discrepancies before finalizing the results.
The process comes as Fulton County addresses equipment problems involving two scanners used during early voting.
In a statement released Tuesday, the county said 1,069 ballots were identified for possible rescanning following scanner malfunctions at two locations.
Of those, 361 ballots were associated with Mechanicsville Library, while another 708 were associated with the Hugh C. Conley Recreation Center.
The county said the equipment failures were reported to the Georgia Secretary of State's Office, which recommended corrective actions subject to approval by the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections.
Officials said any approved rescanning would take place in public view. The county's November 3 statement did not confirm whether the proposed corrective actions had been completed.
The scanner problems occurred during an early voting period in which Fulton County reported more than 328,000 ballots cast.
Election monitors were also observing the process, including representatives associated with the American Civil Liberties Union.
Mike Katinsky, an ACLU volunteer election monitor, said the attention surrounding Fulton County's election operations may have contributed to efforts to maintain transparency.
"I think Fulton County and Secretary of State also were aware of that and I think that is probably part of the reason why it has been so smooth everyone is aware that this is under a microscope and they want to be above the board and they want to be visible to everybody," Katinsky said.
The county's election operations have faced additional scrutiny following the FBI's seizure of records related to the 2020 election earlier this year. The federal investigation is separate from the scanner problems reported during the 2026 election.
Meanwhile, Fulton County has scheduled absentee ballot processing through Friday, November 6.
A pre-certification meeting is also scheduled for Friday, when officials are expected to review any discrepancies identified during the reconciliation process.
The county's certification meeting is scheduled for Monday, November 9, at 3 p.m., ahead of Georgia's 5 p.m. county certification deadline.
State certification is scheduled for November 20.
Until certification is complete, Election Night results remain unofficial.
For voters whose absentee ballots were rejected because of correctable issues, Georgia law allows eligible voters until 5 p.m. Monday, November 9, to submit the necessary corrections.
Fulton County officials have not yet publicly confirmed in the cited November 3 statement whether the proposed rescanning process was approved or completed.
