re: NC court says ballots can be counted 9 days after election

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When were Military and absentee counted before this year?

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This is what I found on early ballots. Listed in the link is how each state processes their mail-in ballots. Interesting read.

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This table is part of NCSL’s Voting Outside the Polling Place report.

In many states, processing of absentee ballots can begin before they are actually counted. “Processing” means different things in different states, but typically the first step is comparing the affidavit signature on the outside of the return envelope against the voter’s signature on record to ensure a match, or otherwise verify the voter’s identity. See the section titled, “Processing, Verifying, and Counting Absentee Ballots.”

In some states once the signature is verified the envelope can then be opened and the ballot prepared for tabulation. In essence, states that begin processing before Election Day can “tee up” absentee ballots so that they are ready to be counted as soon as the law allows. By permitting election officials to do a lot of the work ahead of time, the counting process on Election Day (and election results reporting) are quicker. Results are not released ahead of time.

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LINK