Preliminary and certified election results
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Certified election results are results that are final and officially verified by the relevant elections office. Once election results are certified, the effects - either the approval or rejection of candidates or measures - can take place because all the ballots that are going to be counted have been.
Preliminary election results refer to election results before they have been certified. It often takes elections offices between two weeks and a month to certify election results. Even if 100 percent of election precincts are reporting, there can still be ballots from these precincts that have not been counted, due to certain circumstances, such as absentee ballots being delayed or complications that require recounts.
