When Northeast Florida's Nov. 3 Results Post: 7 p.m. Release, 45-Minute Updates and Certification by Nov. 17

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Polls across Northeast Florida open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3, and the first results can start appearing shortly after that. Florida law sets a strict order for what gets reported and when, from the first batch of early and mail ballots on election night to official certification two weeks later. Here is how that process works in Duval, St. Johns, Clay and Nassau counties, based on state law and the published schedules of local canvassing boards.

Results posted on election night are unofficial. Each county's canvassing board still has to review provisional ballots, process voters' fixes to mail-ballot signature problems and certify the totals in several steps. A close race can also trigger an automatic recount under state law.

When Results Start Posting

No results can be made public before the polls close, under Section 102.141 of the Florida Statutes. Supervisors of elections must load the results of early voting and mail ballots counted through the end of early voting into their election systems by 7 p.m. the day before the election. Those results stay sealed until polling places close at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Within 30 minutes after polls close, each county canvassing board must report all early voting and counted mail ballot results to the Florida Department of State. After that, the board must send updated precinct results at least every 45 minutes until all results are reported, not counting provisional ballots. Returns from every precinct must reach the canvassing board by 2 a.m. the day after the election, according to the law.

Anyone who is in line when polls close at 7 p.m. is still allowed to vote, under Section 100.011. The law also requires poll workers to publicly announce the opening and closing of the polls. The first wave of numbers on election night usually reflects early voting and mail ballots, because those are reported first under the 30-minute rule.

Where to Find Results

Each county posts its own results on its supervisor of elections website. Statewide results for federal, state and multicounty races are posted by the Florida Division of Elections. The table below lists where to look.

Nassau County's published canvassing schedule says the county will release unofficial results at 7 p.m. on Election Day, and those results will not include provisional ballots. The St. Johns County canvassing board is scheduled to meet from 6 to 10 p.m. Tuesday to canvass election returns and provisional ballots. Both schedules note that boards can meet at other times as needed.

Key Dates After Election Day

State law sets the deadlines below for the Nov. 3 general election. Dates are counted from Election Day as the law specifies. County boards may set earlier internal deadlines for their own certification steps.

The Elections Canvassing Commission is made up of the governor and two Cabinet members chosen by the governor. It certifies returns for federal, state and multicounty offices and for each constitutional amendment. County canvassing boards certify county and local races.

When a Recount Happens

Florida orders a machine recount when the first unofficial returns show a candidate lost by one-half of a percent or less of the votes cast in that race, under Section 102.141. The same threshold applies to ballot measures and judicial retention questions. The Secretary of State orders recounts in federal, state and multicounty races, while county canvassing boards order them in other races.

If the second set of unofficial returns shows a margin of one-quarter of a percent or less, a manual recount of overvotes and undervotes follows, under Section 102.166. Overvotes are ballots marked for too many choices in a race, and undervotes are ballots with no choice recorded. In both cases, the losing candidate can ask in writing that no recount be held.

St. Johns County's Schedule

The St. Johns County Canvassing Board is chaired by County Judge Alexander R. Christine Jr. and includes County Commissioner Clay Murphy and Supervisor of Elections Vicky Oakes. It meets at the elections office at 4455 Avenue A, Suite 101, in St. Augustine. The schedule below is from the board's published calendar, updated Sept. 10.

Nassau County's Schedule

The Nassau County Canvassing Board includes County Judge Jenny S. Higginbotham, County Commissioner Klynt Farmer and Supervisor of Elections Janet H. Adkins. It meets in the tabulation room and Conference Room A at the James S. Page Governmental Complex, 96135 Nassau Place, in Yulee. The board's public notice lists these post-election dates.

Watching the Process

Canvassing board meetings are open to the public, including candidates, representatives of political committees and the press, according to the St. Johns County schedule. Nassau County's notice says anyone who wants to appeal a board decision may need a verbatim record of the meeting. Both counties' schedules include scanning ballots into an independent audit system, which Nassau says it uses to support post-election audits and any recounts.

Duval and Clay county voters can find their own canvassing board notices and meeting times on their supervisors' websites. Duval's board posts a 2026 canvassing board page and general election notice on duvalelections.gov. Meeting times can change, and Nassau County's notice directs residents to its website for schedule updates.

More Information

The full text of Florida's results and recount rules is in Section 102.141 of the Florida Statutes. St. Johns County's canvassing schedule and agendas are on the St. Johns County Supervisor of Elections website, and Nassau County's are at VoteNassauFL.gov. Questions about a specific ballot should go to the voter's county supervisor of elections.