Experts claimed in an article published Saturday by The Washington Post that the results of the 2024 elections in Pennsylvania could be delayed because state lawmakers did not pass bills that would allow election workers to begin processing mail-in ballots prior to Election Day.
Because Pennsylvania does not allow its election workers to pre-canvass mail-in votes, which is the process of counting and validating the authenticity of the ballots, experts claim workers could need significant time after Election Day to determine which presidential candidate will carry the Keystone state’s Electoral College votes.
Current law mandates Pennsylvania’s county boards of elections meet “no earlier” than 7 a.m. on Election Day in order “to pre-canvass all ballots received prior to the meeting,” which former Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar claimed contributes to longer waits for election results.
“It’s reprehensible that they didn’t get it done,” said Boockvar.
State Representative Scott Conklin (D-State College) sponsored HB 847, which would give election workers more time for pre-canvassing, and it passed the Democrat-controlled Pennsylvania House in May.
However, the bill has yet to receive a vote in the Pennsylvania Senate, where Republicans have a majority.
A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R-Indiana) told Spotlight Pennsylvania at the time that “any discussion of changes to the administration of elections in our commonwealth must also include a Constitutional voter identification requirement,” as “[e]nsuring voter confidence and the security of elections remain our top priorities.”
Earlier legislation passed the legislature in 2021, and would have both allowed Election Workers to begin pre-canvassing earlier and strengthened voter identification laws, but despite its bipartisan support the bill was vetoed by former Governor Tom Wolf.
In a statement distributed after his veto, Wolf claimed the legislation was “about restricting the freedom to vote,” and claimed it would “distrupt election administration, undermine faith in government, and invite costly, time-consuming, and destabilizing litigation.”
Potential Democratic vice presidential nominee Governor Josh Shapiro pledged while campaigning in 2022 he would similarly veto any attempt to curb mail-in voting or strengthen voter ID requirements.
Should either Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, or former President Donald Trump win the state in a meaningful margin, Rachel Orey of the Bipartisan Policy Center indicated to The Post the 7 a.m. Election Day requirement for pre-canvassing may not be important.
However, Orey explained, “If the electoral college comes down to Pennsylvania,” then the general public “might still face a long period where we don’t know the winner.”
The Real Clear Polling aggregate of data suggests Trump currently leads Harris by 3 percent in Pennsylvania.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Ballot return box” by Lbeaumont. CC4.0.
