To deal with the large number of absentee ballots, elections workers are doing everything they can prior to Election Night, except count the votes, 10TV's Cara Connelly reported.

"The ballots or electronic results are all kept under double lock," said Matt Damschroder with the Franklin County Board of Elections. "A Republican key and a Democrat key."

No ballots can be counted until 7:30 p.m. on Election Night, but elections workers are preparing in other ways.

"Before Election Day the Board of Elections then opens all of those envelopes, separates the ballot from the identification envelope, and then begins scanning them through our high-speed absentee tabulator," Damschroder said.

Absentee ballots will be ready to total right at 7:30 p.m., busting the common myth that they are counted last, Connelly reported.

"They are actually the first results that we report on Election Night," Damschroder said.

Thanks to the large number of early voters this year, elections workers anticipate that they will have more results earlier on Election Night, Connelly reported.

After the absentee ballots are counted, votes cast on Election Day get their turn. Electronic votes and paper ballots are delivered by hand to the election warehouse shortly after polls close. With more than 500 cars arriving, the deliveries create a massive traffic jam.

"They come with the presiding judge or voting location manager who's from one political party Damschroder said. "They also then have a ride along with someone from the opposite political party."

After the votes are delivered, the counting begins.

"Electronic results are then uploaded to a central tabulating system," Damschroder said. "That central tabulating system is not on the Internet. It's not connected to any network.  It's a stand alone system that's just for our tabulation."

After being delivered to the warehouse, paper ballots are collected again and taken to Memorial Hall where they will be counted.

"We'll have absentee up between 7:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.," Damschroder said. "We will probably have our first Election Day electronic results between 8 p.m. and 8:30 p.m."

Elections officials said their goal is to have Franklin County votes 100 percent counted by 11 p.m., Connelly reported.

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