Contact: Mark Church, Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder
Alternate: Jim Irizarry, Asst. Chief Elections Officer & Asst. Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder
(Redwood City, CA) Mark Church, Chief Elections Officer and Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder, announced today that the San Mateo County Registration & Elections Division will begin the One Percent Manual Tally for the June 2, 2026 Statewide Direct Primary Election on Friday, June 5, 2026, at 9:00 a.m.
The One Percent Manual Tally is a state-mandated post-election canvassing procedure conducted following the close of polls on Election Day. The process serves as an important safeguard to verify the accuracy and integrity of the election results prior to the certification of the official vote count.
The tally process begins with the random selection of ballot batches from both Vote by Mail and Vote Center ballots. To ensure transparency, the selection is conducted publicly using three to four ten-sided dice. The numbers generated by the dice rolls are used to identify the specific ballot batches that will be manually counted and compared against the electronic tabulation results.
The One Percent Manual Tally is open to public observation and is one of several procedures conducted during the official canvass to ensure the accuracy, transparency, and integrity of election results.
The entire process, including the random dice roll used to select ballot batches for manual review, is conducted in public view. In past elections, members of the public have participated by rolling the dice, reinforcing the transparency and community involvement that are central to the election verification process.
Following the dice roll, Elections Officials will retrieve the designated ballots for manual tallying. The tallying will commence on Monday, June 8, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. Election Officials will form four-person tally teams responsible for manually reading, calling out, recording, and tallying votes from the randomly selected batches. The process is expected to continue for approximately one week.
The Chief Elections Officer will certify and publish the final official results no later than July 2, 2026. The official certified results, known as the Statement of the Vote, will be available on our website at www.smcacre.gov.
The One Percent Manual Tally will be conducted at the Registration & Elections Division, located at 40 Tower Road in San Mateo. Members of the public who wish to observe the tally or participate in the random precinct and batch selection process are encouraged to send an email to ElectionObserver@smcacre.gov.
Voting Period Ends
For more information about the June 2, 2026 Statewide Direct Primary Election, call or text (650) 312-5222, visit www.smcacre.gov, or follow us on X @smcvote and Instagram @sanmateocountyvote.