With at least three times as many ballots coming in by mail for this presidential primary than in years past, the state Board of Elections has its work cut out for it today and tomorrow.

Robert Kando, the executive director of the elections board,, said that this year, the board is set to begin certifying ballots at 3:30 p.m. today. Often, Kando said, certifying ballots -- that is, making sure they are valid -- doesn’t begin until the day of the primary.

But, he said he estimates that so far there are “probably about three times as many … maybe four, but at least three times as many” mail-in ballots than previous primary elections.

The mail-in ballots come, for example, from servicemen and servicewomen, residents living or working overseas, out-of-state students and people with medical issues that make it difficult to get to the polls.

Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis said his office is predicting that overall, as many as twice the number of people will turn out to vote in this election than did for the 2000 presidential primary
here.

The state insists it is prepared with a plan to handle the surge — launching public service advertisements and asking local communities to add poll workers and voting booths — but it will have to do so with fewer polling places statewide than it had in 2004.

In the four years since the last presidential primary, cities and towns have closed more than 80 polling sites as a way of saving money in tight budget times. It's a scenario that some say could mean trouble at the polls tomorrow.

The elections board will actually start counting mail-in ballots at the same time as those cast tomorrow -- after polls close at 9 p.m.

Kando said at the earliest, results will begin coming in at 9:15 p.m. Results will be available online, where they are expected to be updated every 15 minutes.

“We hope to have everything done by midnight,” he said.

If counting isn’t finished by midnight, including mail-in ballots, he said, they’ll likely keep going:
“We like to get it done.”

Still searching for your polling place? Try the Secretary of State's online search tailored to your personal information, including the ballot you can expect to see at your poll.

Projo.com will carry the results from the Board of Elections on its home page and on projo.com/politics.

A section of the Elections Board Web site is also set up to show the mail-in ballot count alone.

-- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson, with Journal reports