First election results are unofficial. Here's the legal process after.

The first election results from the counties are unofficial. There's a thorough process afterward to canvass and certify the election.

Election Day Voting — What to Know

• Election Day Voter Guide: Learn where and when you can vote on Election Day, what's on your ballot, and what you'll need to bring to the polls.
• When is Election Day? Tuesday, Nov. 5, is Election Day. On that day, polls will be open in Texas from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. You will be allowed to vote if you're in line by 7 p.m. on Election Day.
• Who or what is on the ballot? Click the links to filter races by category or county: Federal races | State races | Collin County | Dallas County | Denton County | Tarrant County | ISD props | City props
• How many people voted early? More than 1 million people voted early in North Texas. Click here to see daily early voting totals from Collin, Dallas, Denton and Tarrant counties and compare them to those from previous years.
• How can I vote by mail? The deadline to request a mail-in ballot has passed. Mail-in ballots must be received or postmarked by 7 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 5. More information on voting by mail in Texas is here.

November 5 will not be the end of the election process. In this age of lawsuits and election challenges, voters should know what comes next.

A thorough legal process comes after the unofficial results are released by the counties running the elections. The next steps are laid out in Texas law in the name of election integrity. It's known as the canvass. This is when election workers can audit, follow the paper trail, manually count the votes, and verify the numbers.

Former Texas Secretary of State John Scott told Lone Star Politics this is when the official votes are verified.

“Our elections are safe and they’re secure. Part of that process is the ability of all participants in the election to observe what has taken place. If there’s a question, they can file a contest for instance. They can challenge that a voter should not have cast a ballot. There are all types of issues that can pop up," said Scott.

Per state law, counties must canvass and certify their results by November 19, two weeks after election day. Many times county election officials finish the process much sooner.

Then the State of Texas goes through a similar process. The state's deadline to certify the election is December 8.

For the presidential elector vote, the process is slightly different. The two parties have already chosen their presidential electors. By state law, whichever candidate wins the presidential popular vote in Texas will have their electors in the state capitol on December 17.

That's when the actual vote in the Electoral College is taken. The electors then send those votes to Washington D.C. where the National Archives must receive them by December 25.

On January 6, a joint session of Congress opens and counts the electoral college votes and whichever candidate receives 270 or more is officially the next president.