This is an intriguing question and I strongly suspect that in many countries including those in the West might prefer that ballots-votes be counted many many years following the vote. However, I believe this delay in count would be most prejudicial to the civic electoral process whereby following election day the count ought to commence immediately following the close of the polling stations[s] as the choice of the citizen must be recognized and certified within a most short period of time notwithstanding the exigencies now in Afghanistan.

I suspect strongly that following the close of the electoral period of voting all ballots must be counted immediately.

From a social public policy perspective any delay in the count following the election period of voting is not considered as being 'good practice' and any attempt to delay both the count and public declaration of results must be discouraged and if not expressed in the electoral rules of procedure consideration must be given in imposing a time criteria for purpose of counting the vote and the release of the vote in detail.

Es difícil de responder sobre un tiempo límite o máximo para el conteo de votos. Es muy importante tener rapidez en los resultados, pero ante todo, es la confiabilidad de los resultados. Es decir, que se cuenten y se cuenten bien los votos. Partiendo de esta premisa, me permito comentar el caso de México, en el cual los miembros de la mesa de votación son ciudadanos seleccionados al azar y los requisitos mínimos es que sepan leer español y tengan algún grado de estudio para las operaciones que se deben hacer. En la casilla electoral, están los funcionarios de casilla, previamente capacitados por el INE, y también los representantes de los partidos políticos y cualquier grupo de observación electoral o ciudadano que quiera estar presente para observar el conteo de votos. Los votos se van contando en voz alta y, si todos están de acuerdo, se van anotando los resultados en una hoja que concentra los resultados. Si hay dudas sobre un voto se separan y después se analizan y todos los detalles de las dudas se anotan en la hoja de registro. Una vez finalizado el conteo de votos, todos los miembros de la casilla deben firmar, al igual que los representantes de partidos políticos, y si estos tienen alguna objeción pueden anotarla en dicha hoja de registro de resultados finales. Los votos son llevados al distrito electoral en donde empleados capacitados del INE transmitirán los resultados que llegan directamente a la base de datos del INE y de acceso directo a cualquier ciudadano o medios de comunicación. En el INE, desde hace tiempo se ha ido avanzando en una urna electrónica que daría los resultados en un tiempo muy rápido pues la misma máquina hace la suma total al cierre de la votación. Sin embargo, la desconfianza de partidos políticos y algunos ciudadanos han impedido que sea aprobada el uso del voto electrónico y prefieren confiar en el voto contado a mano por parte de los ciudadanos.

Si bien se han comprobado errores al momento de contar, se ha analizado que no influye el nivel de escolaridad o si los errores son mayores en zona urbana o rural. Simplemente puede ser cansancio, un error común pero el conteo tiene alto grado de confiabilidad y ha dado prueba y resistencia. En un lapso menor a 24h después del cierre de casillas se tienen resultados preliminares con un 98% de certeza.

Cuatro elementos quisiera resaltar: Más que el tiempo que tome dar los resultados, se debe enfatizar aspectos como: los materiales y documentos para facilitar el conteo de votos sea lo más didáctico y fácil para quienes tienen que hacer el conteo de votos, segundo, una exhaustiva capacitación a los funcionarios de casilla encargados del conteo, además con ejemplos prácticos sobre posibles problemas o conflictos y cómo tomar decisiones. Tercero, la posibilidad de hacer el conteo de los votos lo más abierto a la observación y transparencia posible para que todos confíen en los resultado a nivel de casilla. Cuarto y último, que los resultados de la casilla estén publicados en un lugar visible para que todos los ciudadanos, partidos políticos y autoridades lo puedan contrastar frente a la publicación oficial.

If counting does not commence immediately at the place where the cotes were cast then it raises the following questions:

Where will it be counting and what security measures are in place?

when will it be counted and what is the rationale behind the delay whther by design or not.

In both questions the issue of transparency is a foremost consideration. Effectively delaying counting where the votes cast "dissapear and reappear" . If transparency is la king it raises questions of the credibility that votes cast may have been tampered with. The is a relationship between the timing of announcing results and mounting suspicions if announcement is prolonged. Timeous, transparent counting and results announcement contributes towrds the credibilty whther percieved or real of the counting and results announcement processes. 

Best electoral practices require the counting of votes to commence as soon as the polls closed, if the law permits it in a single day polling scenario, and where counting is done at polling stations. The answer to this question depends on legal design, for where counting of votes is done at counting centres, counting may not be permitted until all ballot boxes can be accounted for at each counting centre. Where polling lasts for a period of days or weeks, counting may take place after each day without releasing the results to the public, but this may be inconsistent with the rules against transparency.

Best Practice - Votes should be counted immediately after the poll in the presence of observers, party agents, and local citizens. Immediately following the count results for the station should be posted at the station.

Counting at the polling station is the most transparent possible process, and the best method for enhancing the credibility of a poll in a polarised or disputed environment. It makes expensive security measures (special ballots, seals, transport and secure storage) unnecessary, as the chain of observation is never broken. A party agent or observer can arrive before the station is set up, see the empty ballot box, see the voting process all day, then see the count. At the end of this period the agent (or observer or voter) can testify as to the fairness and legitimacy of the process at that station. Because parties and observers can collect and independently aggregate the results they can deter, or at least detect, the most common and effective form of election cheating, which typically occurs during the aggregation of votes, rather than during the polling process.

The need to organise to collect results from stations builds organisational capacity in both civil society and in parties. If ballots are moved before counting it invariably creates an opportunity for electoral losers to allege they were cheated during the transport or storage phase (this has just occurred in Fiji, where parties have challenged advance ballots taken early but not counted until election day).

Counting at the station also builds local ownership of the process. Opponents of counting at the polling station argue that a villages vote will be know and this undermines the secrecy of the vote, and may lead to less government support to opposition areas. This may be true to some degree, but to my mind it is a losing strategy for a party to punish an area of non-supporters rather trying to win them over. In any case, the potential drawbacks and additional expense of moving ballot boxes far outweigh and potential benefit of such practice. 

Bhutan considers it is critical to count and declare the result at the shortest possible time after the polls are closed. So we announce the result on the same day. In fact at five o'clock we close the polls and by 10pm or so whole world can know are results while the formal declaration is made at 8am the following morning. this magic is possible because we use Indian EVMs and count at every polling station.

The timeframe on  how soon should votes be counted after being cast on Election Day depends on each country's legislation. However, for transparency and credibility of an election, the counting of votes must be conducted in the presence of the party and candidates' agents and observers present at the polling station.

In the country with strong democracy and where  people have   trust in the EMB, the time  between the closing of the polling stations and the counting of votes may be long. However, in the countries where trust in the EMB is absent or weak, the counting or results must be conducted imediately after the closing of the voting operations. In these countries early voting (One or more days before the voting day) is not possible.

For instance, in Australia, people are allowed by the Electoral Commission to vote one day before the Election Day and ballot boxes are kept in a secured area and the counting of votes contained therein is done on the election Day. This is not possible in many countries with emerging democracy.

In Burundi, the counting of votes is conducted immediately after the closing of the polling stations.

One of the universal principles in the conduct of elections is transparency.

Therefore, the  Best Practice is that Votes should be counted immediately after the poll in the presence of observers, party and independent (if there is any) agents, and local citizens. Immediately following the count results for the station should be posted at the station and the party agents should be given a copy of the results for transparency and dispute settlement purposes.

Thsi is the practice in the SADC Region, in the East African Community. Even in the countries with strong democracy systems  are following this practice. Scrutiny follows immediately after the polling stations are closed.

At our EMB, Malawi, polling starts at 6 am and closes at 6 pm same day. Counting of votes starts immediately after the polling station is closed. If the queue is still on up to the closing time the station does not close until the last voter casts their vote.  Counting is done in the presents of political party agents, observers/monitors and security personnel. Results are recorded on the result sheet and party agents and observers/monitors are asked to sign showing that they have agreed with the outcome.  Party agents and observers/monitors are given copy of the result for record keeping.   All this is done for transparency purposes.

Although it is the best practice to count ballots as soon as the voting is closed, it depends on the legal framework of a country. In India staggered elections are held and the ballot boxes are kept in the treasury. After completing each of the phases ballots are counted. In the last elections voting was conducted in 9 phases starting from 7 April (2014) and continued up the 12 May. The result of those elections were declared on 16 May. In Bangladesh ballot papers are counted at the polling stations just after the the voting is closed in the presence of candidates' agent, observers, journalists and polling personnel. The result sheets from the polling stations are sent to the control room set up for each of the constituency. Thus the results are declared at the polling stations, control room (at the constituency level) and central control room as soon as the results are counted and aggregated. 

 REBECCA M. DAMIANO.In Kenya,voting commences at 6.00 am and closes at 5.00 pm.The voting is allowed for all the voters in the quire but no new voters are allowed into the polling station after 5.00 pm.After the last voter casts his/her vote,the ballot boxes are sealed in the presence of the election officials,the political party agents,the accredited election observers in the polling station and the security officers manning the polling station.The entire team takes a brief break and the counting officers secure the room and set tables to commence the vote counting exercise. The presiding officer and the deputies conduct the vote counting assisted by election clerks.The results are tallied and captured in the legal forms.After this and the party agents are invited to confirm and append the signatures.The results are then electronically transmitted to the main Tallying center to full public view before the presiding officer delivers the hard copies for confirmation and final tally.The electronic figures remain as provisional results until the Returning Officer receive and verify the results from the presiding officer.

En Haiti, le vote prend fin à 18 h et immédiatement on procède au décompte des voix dans les bureaux de votes. Le décompte est compilé dans un Procès Verbal de dépouillement en six originaux dont l'un est affiché au bureau de vote. Cette opération dure à peu près deux heures ce qui signifie qu'au niveau régional les partis politiques, les candidats et l'électorat connaissent les résultats en attendant la publication officielle de ceux-ci par l'organisme électoral. L'idéal est de pouvoir transmettre de manière fiable et rapide ces décomptes vers le Centre de Tabulation de façon à ce que les résultats soient publiés le plus vite possible ce qui augmente leurs fiabilité. En République Dominicaine, les procès verbaux sont envoyés par courrier électronique à tous les partis politiques qui peuvent s'il le veulent, faire rapidement leur propre décompte avant même la proclamation des résultats. Nous sommes en train de mettre en place des moyens d'utiliser les TIC, particulièrement avec les smartphones pour la transmission. De toute façon plus la proclamation est rapide plus les résultats seront crédibles. 

Ahmed Muaz

Regarding the count of ballot papers after being cast on Election Day, my view is that the sooner the better and is also considered as best practice as it increases the transparency of the processes. And is the most cost effective way, instead of transporting the ballot boxes to a central area with high security.

Coincido con mis colegas en el sentido de que los resultados de una elección deben ser entregados al público lo más inmediato posible al cierre de las votaciones y que además que dichos resultados sean creibles. La experiencia demuestra que mientras más se tarda en entregar los resultados de la votación, también crece la desconfianza popular, se deslegitima el proceso y puede estallar el caos social según el contexto del país. Si es una democracia frágil, la demora es un pretexto para los golpes de Estado.

De estas reflexiones se puede considerar que la tendencia de los organismos electorales, actualmente, es la de entregar resultados rápidos, creibles y precisos.

En Ecuador, el país se divide en provincias (equivale a departamentos). Cuando se elige dignidades locales, el escrutinio empieza en las casillas de votación, luego pasan a la Junta Provincial Electoral, la cual tiene 10 días prorrogables para concluir el escrutinio.  Proceso y plazos similares se aplican cuando se trata de dignidades nacionales.

Saludos

Vote counting is a critical stage of any election-errors made at the count could make a difference between winning and losing.In Ghana under the law C.I 75(27)the poll shall be taken between the hours of seven in the morning and five in the  evening. A voter who arrives at a pollng station after 5pm shall not be allowed to vote.

Regulation 5 of C.I 75 (1)...a candidate may appoint a counting agent to attend to the counting of votes at each polling station .(3)a candidate shall not later than 4 days to an election submit in duplicate to the returning officer in charge of the constituency a letter of appointment  stating(a)name and address of counting agent and (b)the polling station to which the counting agent is assigned. They are sworn in upon penalty of perjury that they(a) shall abide by laws and regulations governing the conduct of the elections and(b)will sign the declaration of results following the count of the ballot, or state in writing to the presiding officer the reason for failing to do so.

C.I 75 Regulation 36:The presiding officer shall immediately after the close of poll,in the presence of candidates or their representatives and counting agents

(a)open each ballot box and take out the ballot papers in the box

(b)sort out the ballot papers into valid ballot papers and rejected papersin accordance with the law,

(c)proceed to count the ballot papers at the polling station

(d)record the total number of votes cast in favour of each candidate;and

(e)record total number of rejected ballots.

The presiding officer,the candidates.or their representation and counting agents shall then sign the Statement of Poll and Declaration of Results Forms.

Ghana therefore begins counting immediately at the end of polling hours where nobody is in the queue at the polling station.

Those who voted earlier known in Ghana as 'special voting' for people such as security personnel and people on election duties and have their ballot boxes taken into police custody are also counted at the same time and same manner as those contained in the ballot boxes used on polling day .

To bring openness and transparency into the counting process, the general public, observers  are allowed to witness  the counting  at the polling stations in Ghana immediately after close of polls at 5pm.

Il n'y a pas un délai pour le dépouillement ,en Cote d'Ivoire. Dès que le vote est terminé , le dépouillement commence immédiatement dans les bureaux de vote, devant les représentants des candidats dans lesdits bureaux de vote ! a la fin du dépouillement, un exemplaire du Procès verbal de dépouillement est signé par les membres du bureau de vote ( Président et secrétaires)  et les représentants des candidats ou de liste de candidats .  Séance tenante, un exemplaire du Procès-verbal de dépouillement est remis chaque représentant de candidats ou de liste de candidats, avant la fermeture du Bureau de vote.  Les urnes ne sont pas déplacés dans un autre lieu pour le dépouillement, cela pourrait provoquer des suspicions et des conflits inutiles .

in my country, polling start at 7am to 7pm.

counting start immediately after that. observers and candidates representatives witness the counting process and filling of counting forms.

candidates representatives and observers are asked to sign the counting forms beside polling station committee signatures; then, a copy of counting sheet is pasted on station's door.

by this procedure, transparency is guaranteed. 

In Kenya vote counting is done at the polling station as soon polling is completed. Polling commences at 6 am and ends at 5 pm. Indeed this is a constitutional requirement. This process of vote counting in a polling station was informed by allegations of interference with the votes while on transit during the 1997 elections. Subsequently, the law changed prior to 2002 general elections to only allow votes counting and announced at the polling station. In order to enhance transparency, Observers and agents are accredited and admitted to the polling station to observe the process. The agents are required to appex their signature on the result forms. 

In my view vote counting and announcement should take place at the polling station. This enhances transparency a key principle of elections.

In Rwanda, voting commences at 7.00 am and ends at 3.00 pm, immediately the counting take place at the polling station in the presence of Observers, Political Parties agents accredited and voters who may want to follow the process. This enhances transparence in election process. It may also avoid some conflicts. But all things should be mentioned in election law and instructions and also be communicated to all election's stakeholders.  

En République Démocratique du Congo, le vote commence de 6h à 17h, toute fois si à l'heure de fermeture et qu'on y retrouve encore un certain nombre d'électeurs dans la fil d'attente, le président du bureau de vote et de dépouillement sortira du bureau de vote pour donner les jetons aux électeurs en attente en commençant par le dernier sur la fil d'attente. le bureau de vote est à la fois le bureau de dépouillement. la loi électorale congolaise en son article 62 stipule "après la clôture des opérations de vote, le bureau de vote se transforme immédiatement en bureau de dépouillement. il procède, séance tenante, au dépouillement devant les témoins, les observateurs, les journalistes présents et cinq électeurs désignés par le président du bureau de dépouillement. le dépouillement s'effectue sans interruption jusqu'à l'achèvement complet...". L'objectif est d'avoir la confiance du peuple pour ce, la transparence pour crédibiliser les élections, les élus et les institutions issues de ces élections. l'article 68 de la même loi électorale ajoute " aussitôt le dépouillement terminé, le résultat est immédiatement rendu public et affiché devant le bureau de dépouillement suivant les modalités arrêtées par le Commission électorale indépendante. la fiche de résultat est signée par tous les membres du bureau de dépouillement et les témoins qui le désirent. une copie est remise aux témoins qui en font la demande". 

la deuxième étape est d'acheminer les résultats de différents bureaux de dépouillement pour compilation afin d'avoir le résultats global de tous les bureaux de vote de la circonscription électorale; là, il n'y a pas un délai fixe, tout dépend de l'arrivée des résultats et de la rapidité des agents commis à cette tâche mais généralement pour les élections présidentielles, le nombre de jour ne dépasse pas 7 jours, pour les législatives et les provinciales pas un mois.

In Ghana, counting of votes begins soon after the close of the poll at 5:00pm. The law requires that casting of votes begins at 7:00 am and closes at 5:00pm. However, at 5:00pm, voters in queue are allowed to vote until such a time that those in the queue as at 5:00 pm are exhausted. No voter is allowed to join the queue after 5:00pm. Counting of votes follows immediately the necessary statement of poll forms are completed. Note that the polling official double as the counting officials whilst the party (candidate) agents become the counting agents and represents the various parties, candidates, at the counting of the ballots. Counting of votes begins immediately after the close of the poll. Votes are counted and declared at the polling stations before the votes and other voting materials are transported to the constituency centres and later to the district offices of the Electoral Commission.

This response is posted by ACE on behalf of PN member Orock Eyong.

Every election has a time  frame within which the polling stations are opened and closed.This time frame is usually fixed either by a decree of the president of the republic, a statute or an Election Management Body(EMB). In the case of Cameroon,the presidential decree that convenes the electorates must specify when the polling stations are to be opened and closed. Usually in Cameroon,polling stations are opened at 8:00 AM and closed at 6:00 PM (10 Hours) and on Sundays or a day declared as a public holiday.

This time frame takes cognizance of of the fact that a maximum of 500 electors are to vote in a polling station and also other contingencies.Even if all the electors of a polling station vote before the time allotted for the close of the polls, the chairperson of the polling commission and his/her members are obliged to wait till the specified time for closing the polls reaches.

As soon as the polls are closed and the polling commission with its appointed scrutineers(not leaving out the counting materials) are ready,the counting process should begin.The duration of this process shall, all things being equal depend by and large on two factors viz:

-The number of electors who cast their votes and the appropriateness of the vote casting.

-The serenity of and/or security of the polling environment.

In Australia, counting of ballots commences as soon as polling stations close at 6pm on the day of the election.  With ballots cast for both the House of Representatives (lower house), where Government is formed, and the Senate (the upper house), priority is given to counting ballots for the House of Representatives in an effort to provide the electorate as quickly as possible the identity of the Government and the likely majority that the Government will have on the floor of the House.  In most elections the identity of the Government is known before the end of Saturday evening even though counting can continue for many days or weeks after polling day (allowing for postal votes to arrive up to two weeks later).

The important principle is the immediacy and integrity of the result.  Delayed counting, even innocent, can feed into concerns about manipulation of the outcome.

Moreover, it is important for the governance of the country, and its economic progress, the identity of the Government is known quickly so that the process of governing can commence with the new Government without delay.  This was clearly shown in the 2010 election where it was nearly 3 weeks after the election was held before the Government was formed as negotiations continued between the major and minor parties.  Important decisions of state, and the management of public services were left uncertain for too long.

In Tanzania vote counting commences immediately after voting has officially ended i.e. after 4 p.m. local time. After the voting process has ended, the presiding officer in the presence of political party agents and observers reconciles ballot papers issued and used then vote counting starts. This is also the practice in many countries in East, Central and Southern Africa.  Immediate counting avoids complaints and possibilities of mishandling the counting process in favor of certain candidates. Party agents are given signed copies of the polling station results, a copy is posted outside the polling station for voters  and the general public and then official results are communicated to the Returning Officer for tallying all constituency election results.

La façon dont le déroulement des opérations de vote, dont le dépouillement et comptage des voix font partie, est généralement consignée dans le cadre légal des élections. La bonne pratique, est de compter immédiatement après l'heure prévue pour la clôture du dépôt des bulletin dans les urnes, en présence des partenaires électoraux: observateurs, mandataires des partis politiques,...Plus  le délai entre les deux faits (clôture du dépôt en haut évoqué et le début du comptage des voix), est long, plus la suspicion peut naitre et ainsi décrédibiliser l'OGE. Est aussi à considérer le temps pour l'établissement des P.V de dépouillement, leur affichage et transmission de ces documents vers qui de droit. Peut aussi être  mis en considération l'implication des TIC où par exemple, le contenu de ces P.V  est mis à la connaissance des intéressés par voix électronique (voir site à ce propos).

En conclusion, nous disons que l''important est de se référer toujours se référer au cadre légal des élections en cours et tenir le plus souvent possible informé les partenaires électoraux en présence sur l'état 'd'avancement; d'où la facilitation de la donne, dans certaines situations par la synergie des médias

Votes should be counted immediately after the official close of each polling station. That is the international norm and best practice. Therefore it is expected that immediately following voting, everything being equal, counting should commence.  Cut off time for poll closing varies from country to country. However, it is expected that all those in line before the official closing time be allowed to vote. When the last person votes, after the closing time, the chairperson in charge of the polling station makes provision for vote counting to start.

 In Cameroon where I worked with then, Cameroon national elections observatory (NEO), the law stipulates that, polls be close at 6pm, and immediately after this time, the chairman of the Commission shall declare closure of the poll. After  this time, only voters present inside the hall shall be allowed to vote, and the time of the effective closure of voting operation be recorded in the report and the vote counting exercise be done by the commission in each polling station immediately after the closure of the poll.

In the Republic of Georgia where I observed the 2013 presidential elections (OSCE- international Election Observer), the law stipulates the polling place be close at 8pm, and the names of voters waiting in line be written and their numbers communicated to the chairperson. These persons are allowed to vote. As soon as the last voter cast a ballot, the polling procedure is announced to have concluded and the after, counting procedure begins.

This process is slightly different in the state of Maryland in the United States where everything is computerized.  Here results are published almost on hourly bases while the election is in process. At the close of the election, election closing judges (assigned official by the board of election) in collaboration with the chief judges finalizes the process and ensure the results are communicated to the board. All is computerize and makes counting and publication easy. The closing judges come in at 6pm and follow the voting till 8pm when the poll is closed or when the last voter cast a vote.               

Dans le cas de notre pays, le Sénégal, il n'existe pas à proprement parler de temps impartis au dépouillement, tout dépend de la rapidité des opérations de vote et de l'heure à laquelle le scrutin est clos par le président du bureau de vote. La loi électorale dispose que le scrutin est ouvert à 8 h et est clos à 18 h sauf prorogation décidé par arrêté de l'autorité administrative si les circonstances  l'exigent. par exemple, retard dans le démarrage du vote ou absence du bulletin d'un candidat.

Le dépouillement commence dés que que le scrutin est clos à l'intérieur même du bureau de vote. Les portes sont fermées et le président désigne des scrutateurs au nombre de quatre dont l'un  procède à l'ouverture des enveloppes, l'autre à la lecture à haute voix des bulletins de chaque candidat tandis que les deux autres portent les résultats au fur et à mesure sur les feuilles de dépouillement prévus à cet effet. Tout ce ci se fait en présence des représentant de candidats. A la fin des opérations, un procès verbal est dressé et remis à chaque représentant de candidats ou partis politiques qui doit signer le procès verbal et qui a le droit d'y porter ses observations. Dés que le dépouillement est terminé, les résultats sont immédiatement affichés devant le bureau de vote pour les électeurs et les journalistes, ce qui est une bonne pratique pour empêcher leur manipulation ou leur falsification. Après cette étape, les originaux des procès verbaux sont acheminés directement à la commission de recensement des votes par des agents assermentés désignés par l'autorité selon un plan de ramassage validé par la commission électorale nationale autonome. Les procès verbaux ne doivent même pas transiter par la préfecture ou la sous préfecture. Dans notre pays, il n'existe pas de centre de dépouillement ou les urnes sont rassemblées avant le décompte.

ABABACAR FALL

Expert électoral

DAKAR (Sénégal)

Las normas o regulaciones en Colombia, determinan que la legalidad del conteo de datos electorales se da en los niveles en que se tienen candidatos y por tanto en el que se pretenden gobernantes locales o miembros de corporaciones legislativas  locales o nacionales Ejemplo: Existen escrutinios y declaratoria de las elecciones a nivel de zonas en ciudades donde se declara ganadores de juntas administradoras locales (JAL), a nivel municipal hay declaratoria de Alcaldes y de Concejos Municipales, a nivel departamental hay declaratoria de elecciones de Gobernadores y de la conformación de Asambleas departamentales y en el nivel nacional existe la declaratoria de las elecciones de Senado, Cámara, y Presidente y vicepresidente de la Republica, todo esto es oficial con los escrutinios que inician al terminar la jornada electoral (4 de la tarde), estos procedimientos pueden durar días, semanas e incluso meses cuando se piden recuento de votos o existen demandas, pero hay un proceso que no se encuentra dentro de la leyes colombianas que es el conteo rápido de resultados electorales, con el cual se obtienen datos definitivos, en tiempo menor a dos hora para elecciones nacionales, datos que son oficiales y aceptados, pero no sirven para impugnaciones o demandas electorales, solo como medio de comunicación del estado de las elecciones, de esto se hacen presentaciones incrementales de los resultados.   

Las normas y la practica en Argentina y muchos países de la región (con leves variantes) prescriben que los votos se cuentan en la mesa de votación en forma inmediata posterior al cierre de las mismas, esa operación se denomina "escrutinio de mesa". Los resultados de ese recuento se inscriben en actas y se procede, de variadas maneras, a su suma informática denominada recuento preliminar y tiene una finalidad informativos. Después de un lapso de 48 horas destinado a que los actores políticos puedan formular reclamos o impugnaciones de las actas de cada mesa, se inicia el denominado escrutinio definitivo, ocasión en la que se resuelven las eventuales reclamaciones y se proclaman los resultados definitivos.