With the polls closed, everyone waits with baited breath to find out if California will have a new governor come tomorrow morning.

And although most of us can hardly wait to know the official results of this special election, it could take well over a month before the count is finalized.

It begs the question, what happens once the votes are in?

As part of our special election package, [X]Press hopes to answer this question with a step-by-step look as to why we may not know who our governor is until Nov. 16. According to the California Secretary of State Web site.

* Election officials in the state's 58 counties have up to 28 days to finish counting each and every ballot, which gives them up until Nov. 4 to have their final count ready.

* Once the count is complete, county supervisors then have a week to approve the results, bringing us to Nov. 11.

* At this time, the results are then sent to the secretary of state's office for certification, who has up to 4 days to review and certify the results, giving us a date of Nov. 15.

* Once the certification process is complete, the new governor can be sworn in immediately, which means the last possible date to know who the governor will be is Nov. 16.

This is of course, unless someone presents a legal challenge to the election between now and then. If there is one thing that we have all learned from this recall election, stranger things can and do happen.

For more information about the election process visit the California Secretary of State Web site at www.ss.ca.gov.