Counted by machine. Checked by hand. Here’s what happens after the polls close. 

Picture a precinct on election night. A tabulator reports the vote totals. How does anyone know those numbers are right? 

Minnesota does not rely on the machine count alone. Election judges reconcile the precinct before they leave, paper ballots remain available for another count, and every county later hand-counts randomly selected precincts in public. 

The first check happens on Election Night 

When voting ends, election judges determine how many ballots should be counted from the election register or signed voter certificates, then compare that number with the ballots. The precinct summary statement must show the number of people who voted and the number of ballots cast, and those totals must agree. Judges who counted the ballots sign the statement certifying the count. 

“At the end of the day, the ballots are counted to match the number of signatures or the people that came in, so there’s a reconciliation that has to take place on election day or at the end of each election day. And then when judges close the polls and run the tapes, all the election judges there are verifying that the number of people that checked in matches the number of ballots that they have physically in hand. They verify the results tape, they all sign it—witnessing, verifying that those are the accurate results.” 

— Jory, Administrative Services Director for Crow Wing County 

The paper ballots are then sealed in signed envelopes. The machine produces the count; the paper preserves the evidence that can be checked again. 

Then selected precincts are counted again 

After every state general election, every Minnesota county conducts a post-election review. County canvassing boards select precincts by lot, with the minimum number determined by county size. 

Officials manually count the paper ballots from those precincts, including absentee ballots counted for them, and compare the hand count with the voting-system result. The review is public, and election judges assisting with it are subject to Minnesota’s party-balance requirement. 

For the 2026 state general election, the required review covers U.S. Senator, U.S. Representative and Governor. 

What if the numbers differ? 

Minnesota law sets small allowable differences between the machine total and the hand count, ranging from two votes in precincts with fewer than 1,200 voters to five in precincts with 2,000 or more. 

If a difference exceeds the legal standard, the review expands. Officials must review at least three additional precincts in the same jurisdiction. If those reviews also exceed the standard, the process can expand to the remaining precincts in the county for the affected races. Any revised vote totals become part of the official results. 

The review is completed before the State Canvassing Board certifies the statewide results. Election-night numbers are reported totals; certification follows additional checking. 

Minnesota does not promise that people or machines can never make a mistake. It keeps the original paper ballots, reconciles the precinct totals, checks randomly selected precincts by hand and requires more review when a discrepancy crosses a defined threshold. 

Want to see the check happen? The Secretary of State posts post-election review information for Minnesota counties.