BOSTON (WHDH) - Ballot counting was still underway at Boston City Hall late Tuesday night and the process is expected to continue into the early morning hours, according to an election official.

Boston Election Commissioner Eneida Tavares told 7NEWS that about 7,000 ballots from all across the city were received via U.S. Mail or by dropbox by the 8 p.m. deadline and must be cross-referenced with voter lists that will be delivered to City Hall to confirm the voters didn’t already vote in person.

She said it will be a lengthy process because each ballot must be checked individually.

“Dropboxes remain open until 8 p.m. so we do have someone stationed there at 8 p.m. to retrieve those ballots however because it was too late to return them to their precincts, they come back here to City Hall and they have to be counted,” Tavares said.

Once a precinct is fully tallied, including all mail votes, the unofficial results can be reported. Tavares said late Tuesday night that it may still take several hours.

All ballots will be counted before the end of the night per state law, officials said.

This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

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