![]() ![]() The Associated Press, which calls races based on the votes tallied and those remaining, was able to project the winner of both the state’s gubernatorial and U.S. Pennsylvania’s counties tallied the results of the 2022 general election without major incident. “The municipal election is far more complicated, but the ‘counting’ process is the same.” “There are over 1,000 candidates on these ballots because of the 130 municipalities and 43 school districts,” Downes said. Officials in those larger counties are undaunted heading into this election, however.Īmie Downes, a spokesperson for Allegheny County, said election administrators count mail ballots at a central warehouse and have scanners at individual precincts that can upload in-person results. In more populous counties, which handle more ballots and have to manage a greater number of local races, the process can be more complicated. Last year, the county finished counting ballots for the November general election around 3 a.m. The county says it has already issued corrected ballots and doesn’t expect the snafu to slow down its count. In April, Lancaster County announced that some 18,000 mail ballots for the primary incorrectly told voters to pick one candidate instead of two in an appellate court race. A similar issue plagued York County in its 2021 municipal primary. ![]() Luzerne County, in northeastern Pennsylvania, suffered a ballot shortage in the 2022 general election that forced polls to stay open for an extra two hours. “Barring any mishaps, we should be done well before midnight,” he said. ![]() The county has used high-speed openers and scanners in recent years, and Feaser said with that technology he anticipates “99%” of mail ballot results will be posted online by 8:30 p.m., with in-person results trickling in afterward. “It depends on how close the elections are.”Įither way, the majority of the city’s mail ballots will be counted soon after polls close, Custodio said, thanks in part to its recent adoption of electronic poll books.įeaser in Dauphin County said he also expects quick turnaround on mail votes, as seen in past elections. “We could know election night, morning after,” Custodio said. However, the apparent winners may be clear before the county is finished. The city must also wait to receive overseas ballots - which must be mailed before Election Day but can be received up to seven days later - or settle disputes over provisional ballots, which people cast when their eligibility is uncertain. Nick Custodio, spokesperson for the Philadelphia City Commissioners, the agency that oversees the city’s elections, said counting every vote will likely take days. For the May 2021 election, 800,000 Pennsylvania voters requested mail ballots this year, 787,000 voters asked for one, of which 420,000 had been returned as of Friday. They are on track to request roughly the same number of mail ballots this municipal primary as they did in the latest one. Mail voting has remained popular with Pennsylvania voters despite the snags. However, in recent sessions, Republicans who controlled the General Assembly were only willing to pass bills that would allow more pre-canvassing time if the measure was tied to their own priorities, such as expanding the commonwealth’s voter ID law or requiring stricter signature verification. Getting more time to process mail ballots is still a top priority for Pennsylvania counties. Former President Donald Trump seized on the delay to push the false narrative that the election was stolen from him. Most other states allow mail ballots to be processed and counted before Election Day, but Pennsylvania did not adopt this practice, leading to a longer wait time for results in 2020. The number of people who opted to vote by mail went from thousands to millions. Previously, Pennsylvania had among the most restrictive rules for voting absentee. Tom Wolf signed Act 77, which allows voters to cast ballots by mail without an excuse, one of 27 such states. “It still takes the same number of dance steps to complete the foxtrot whether we do a municipal or presidential election,” Jerry Feaser, Dauphin County’s election director, told Spotlight PA. ![]() Regardless of the year, however, election administration is a logistical ballet. ![]()
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