These states and counties are broadcasting live vote counts online

Allegations of electoral fraud have continued since 2020, setting the stage for distrust in the 2024 results.
All election offices allow observers, but some also offer live video streams.
In Arizona, state law requires live video at every polling place.

Claims of voter fraud have never stood up to the standard of truth required in court, but they continue to be amplified on social media and have been used in the 2024 election campaigns. Vote counting is about to begin and, in a number of states, electoral offices fight myths about electoral interference by inviting the public to watch their processes via live video broadcasts.

In Arizona, a swing state that has endured more baseless fraud claims than most, state law requires live video streams in the halls where the ballots are counted.

As became evident in the 2020 election, this openness comes with the potential for viewers to misunderstand (or intentionally misinterpret) what they see. In 2020, some supported that video featured footageelection workers who throw away ballots or otherwise engage in fraudulent behavior.

The most costly result of such misperception is almost 150 million dollars lawsuit against Rudi Giuliani for defamation of two election workers in Georgia. He falsely claimed the video showed a mother giving her daughter a USB drive to scan ballots hidden in suitcases. In fact, my mother was passing along a ginger mint.

Despite the risk of intentional misinterpretation, many localities have decided that transparency and up-to-date oversight are worth it. Here are some of the places where you can watch the vote count live.

Arizona

A page on Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes’ website includes links to tab rooms in each county. These streams will be live when the count begins.

LA County, California.

LA County, home almost 6 million registered voters, offers live streams of its voting processes. Postal ballots can be counted up to 29 days before Election Day. Verification may take up to 30 days.

Clatsop County, Ore.

The County Clerk and Elections Office in Clatsop, Oregon will provide live coverage of all phases of ballot processing, from signature receipt and verification to counting.

Delaware County, Pa.

Delaware County, fifth most populous in a 2024 swing state, is streaming video from 10 different rooms.

King County, Wash.

Washington is a vote-by-mail state, and every registered voter receives a mail-in ballot. A day before the election, 47% of registered voters have already cast their ballots. King County offers multiple live viewssorting, opening and scanning.

Screenshot of people sitting at desks in rows with computers under a sign that says "Signature verification." — A view of signature verification from a King County, Washington, stream live.

Carl Smith is a senior writer for the Governance and covers a wide range of issues affecting states and localities. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @governingwriter.

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