Harrisburg, PA – An hour after polls closed, Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt said today’s midterm primary election ran smoothly with few issues reported by counties.
“Thanks to hundreds of county election officials and approximately 45,000 poll workers, Pennsylvania held another safe and secure election,” Secretary Schmidt said. “Eligible voters cast their ballots at more than 9,000 precincts across our 67 counties.”
In addition, more than 854,000 registered Pennsylvania voters requested mail ballots for this primary election. As of 8 p.m., counties were reporting about 77% of those ballots had been returned.
Final voter turnout numbers will be available in several days, after all eligible votes have been counted, but anecdotal reports indicate turnout was typical for a primary election.
A handful of counties reported minor issues throughout the day, such as a few precincts opening several minutes late. The Department offered assistance to counties as they resolved those issues.
Voting hours were extended by 30 minutes at one polling place in Chester County because a medical emergency caused a temporary closure this morning.
Department of State staff received 370 calls today via the Commonwealth’s voter hotline (1-877-VOTESPA), which compares to more than 1,100 calls during the 2022 midterm primary election. Most callers had questions about their voter registration status, polling place location, or mail ballot.
As unofficial results become available from counties, they will be posted on the Department’s elections return site at electionreturns.pa.gov. The site provides statewide totals and county-by-county breakdowns of each race by votes cast in-person on Primary Day, votes cast by mail ballot, and votes cast by provisional ballot.
Secretary Schmidt reminded Pennsylvanians that results on the Department’s returns site are unofficial until certification happens in a few weeks and that increases in vote tallies in the coming days are to be expected as county officials canvass all ballots, including mail ballots, military and overseas ballots, and provisional ballots.
Secretary Schmidt also thanked state and local partners who helped ensure the security of today’s primary election.