Hrabina started with column 25, the race for Tinicum tax collector, which contained a long line of write-in votes. With a red pen, he drew vertical lines between the scrawled names to separate the votes. Then came the fun part. Hrabina scanned the column, finding and marking all variations of the candidate's name. Most candidates submit a letter to the board of elections asking it to accept all specified variations of their names.
Workers then count the number of votes cast for each spelling and enter the totals on a worksheet.
When all votes from one machine are recorded, they move on to the next machine from the same polling district. When all votes from all machines in the voting district are recorded, they move on to the next district. Bucks County has 301 voting districts. County officials expect the count to be finished and election results certified by the end of the week.