ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Polls close at 7 p.m. on Election Night, but Georgia does not declare winners right away. The count arrives in waves.

Counties drop the first wave shortly after 7. It includes early in-person votes plus absentee ballots election workers already verified and scanned. Under Georgia Code §21-2-386, workers can open, verify and scan absentee ballots before polls close — but the law bars them from tabulating or releasing results until after 7 p.m.

The second wave takes longer. It holds Election-Day ballots. Election officials seal memory cards from precinct scanners, transport them under chain-of-custody to the county office, then upload them into the official system.

And the final wave can take days. Election officials still must verify provisional ballots and count cured provisionals and military and overseas ballots that voters postmarked by Election Day. The law allows officials to count those ballots if they arrive within three days, meaning the Friday after a Tuesday election.

Officials say the process causes the delay, not a glitch. Bipartisan teams handle key steps, officials move ballots in sealed transport, and workers maintain a paper trail.

Sources: O.C.G.A. §§21-2-386, 21-2-419; Georgia Secretary of State Military/Overseas Voting page; State Election Board Rules 183-1-12, 183-1-14.

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