HARRISBURG, PA – Tonight, Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt confirmed Pennsylvania held another safe and secure election today, as Pennsylvanians made their voices heard across the Commonwealth.
“Thank you to the hundreds of county officials and the approximately 45,000 poll workers who staffed 9,163 polling places so their fellow Pennsylvanians could make their voices heard today,” Schmidt said. “Though Election Day falls only twice per year, most of these dedicated public servants work year-round to mitigate against potential problems when it’s time for voters to choose their elected officials.”
Schmidt shared that the Department of State provided quick assistance to the three counties that experienced issues, fulfilling its critical role supporting county officials.
“When counties identified issues today, our staff immediately worked hand-in-hand with them so voters could still cast their ballots,” Schmidt said.
For example, shortly after polls opened, Chester County officials informed the Department that its poll books did not include the names of county voters registered with third parties and unaffiliated voters.
Department staff assisted county officials in creating supplemental poll books that included the list of voters who had been omitted. The county then delivered the supplemental poll books to polling places. Before those supplemental poll books were delivered, affected county voters voted by provisional ballot. A court order later extended polling place hours until 10 p.m. Voters in line before 8 p.m. voted by regular ballot, but all Chester County voters in line after 8 p.m. must vote by provisional ballot.
Overall, registered Pennsylvania voters received about 1.1 million mail ballots for this election. As of 8 p.m., counties were reporting 81.5% of those ballots had been returned.
Final voter turnout numbers will be available in the days ahead, after all eligible votes have been counted. As unofficial results become available from counties, they will be posted on the Department’s elections return site, electionreturns.pa.gov. The site provides statewide totals and county-by-county breakdowns of each statewide race by votes cast in-person on Election Day, votes cast by mail ballot, and votes cast by provisional ballot.
Schmidt reminded Pennsylvanians that results are unofficial until certification happens in the coming weeks. Vote tallies on the results website will change as county officials canvass all ballots, including mail ballots, provisional ballots, and military and overseas ballots.
Schmidt also thanked federal, state, and local partners who helped ensure the security of today’s election.