GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — While Election Day is over, there is still a lot of work to be done before confirming its results. 

The Kent County Board of Canvassers started working on certifying the county’s results Thursday during an open meeting. The work at the Kent County Courthouse in the fifth-floor conference room started around 9 a.m.

The board is going over results from all 250 precincts in the county, looking through poll books and matching up numbers to make sure everything lines up. Lisa Posthumus Lyons, the Kent County Clerk, said it could take around two weeks for the county’s election to be certified.

“We’re going to make sure that the number of ballots cast match the number of ballots issued. We just want everything to balance. We want to assure our voters that the election was accurate and this is just one way we can do that,” Posthumus Lyons said. 

She encouraged anyone interested in learning about the process to come out and see it in action. 

“Transparency really is the key to building public trust and this is a public meeting,” Posthumus Lyons said. “I want to encourage and invite all the public to come out and watch how this process works. It’s very robust and it’s a really important part.”

Courtney Winell, the president of the League of Women Voters of the Greater Grand Rapids Area, was among those who came out to watch.

“It helps you to understand the process and also just gives you validity that the process, everything is accounted for, everything is accurate and everyone’s votes are properly counted,” she said.

The canvassers were expected to finish up at 5 p.m. but would be back at it for the next two weeks, except on Veterans Day. All sessions are open to the public.

Once the county board certifies the results, it must report them to the Board of State Canvassers.