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In the hours — and maybe even days — leading up to Election Day, you’ll see news outlets calling the Wisconsin presidential race for either Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump.

These calls are based on unofficial election results that each county reports in the hours after polls close on November 5. The press, such as Associated Presscall a race only when the votes indicate that it is statistically impossible for anyone but one candidate to win, which is why you may see a race called before all the votes cast have been reported.

However, while these race calls are often accurate, they are not official election results. Official results take much longer to count, certify, check and double-check. In Wisconsin, this week-long process takes place in three parts:

Counting: On Election Day, election workers throughout the state will count votes at each polling station and, if applicable, at the central counting site.
Peddling: In the weeks following Election Day, vote totals are compiled and verified at the municipal, county and state level.
Ccertification: About a month after Election Day, the Wisconsin Board of Elections examines the results from each county and reports the official election results, which include the total number of votes cast for each candidate.

Here’s a more detailed breakdown of how Wisconsin certifies its election results and when we’ll know the official results of the November election.

Election night: Poll workers count votes, counties report unofficial results

Immediately after the polls close at 20:00 on November 5, electoral inspectors begin tabulating the results or results of all votes cast at their polling station, according to the Wisconsin Elections Commission.

After the votes are counted, election inspectors report these unofficial results to local clerks. The local clerks must report the results to the county clerks within two hours after the votes are counted.

Then, no more than two hours after they receive the returns from the municipal clerks, the county clerks must post all unofficial election results on their county website. In counties like Milwaukee, which uses a central counting systemthis may take until the early morning of November 6, and all absentee ballot results will be posted simultaneously.

By November 11: municipalities certify their results

By 9 a.m. on November 11, a board of canvassers must meet in each municipality to begin certifying election results.

Who is on this board? It varies: if a municipality has only one polling station, the election workers make up the board of canvassers. These municipalities must also conduct their poll on election night, not months after the election as in other localities.

In municipalities with multiple polling stations, the governing board consists of the local clerk and two qualified electors of the municipality, who are appointed by the clerk. In Milwaukee, the city’s board of election commissioners serves as the local board of canvassers.

After double-checking the vote results from each polling station, the board must certify the official election results for its municipality by 4:00 p.m. on November 11.

By November 19: counties certify their results

After the municipal certification, comes the county one.

A board of canvassers must meet in all 72 Wisconsin counties by 9 a.m. on Nov. 12. In most counties, the county clerk and two qualified county electors, appointed by the clerk, sit on the board. In Milwaukee, however, the county board of election commissioners serves as the board.

The county council analyzes and verifies all election results submitted by the municipal clerks. These meetings are open to the public for observation.

By November 19, two weeks after Election Day, each county board must certify its general election results and submit them to the Wisconsin Elections Commission.

By December 1: The Wisconsin Board of Elections releases final results

After receiving the results for each county, the chairman of the Wisconsin Board of Elections has about two weeks to triple-check the voting results and certify the statewide results.

By December 1, the Election Commission will announce the final results of the Wisconsin election.

Until December 20: Voter data is available online

A few weeks after the official results are released, municipal clerks must submit voter turnout data WisVoteWisconsin’s online voter information portal.

The portal allows anyone to search for a record of their participation in a past election, provided they submit a full name and date of birth that matches a currently registered Wisconsin voter. It does not include information about who you voted for, only if and where you voted in each election.

These data will be available on December 20. You can find them below “My Voter Information” on WisVote.