Local officials in Pennsylvania have yet to finish counting an avalanche of mail-in ballots days after the state’s June 2 primary, suggesting it could take weeks after Election Day this fall to determine the outcome of the presidential contest in this key battleground.
In interviews with CBS News this week, county and city officials in Pennsylvania confirmed their municipalities were still counting votes, saying they were ill-equipped to process the surge in mailed-in ballots caused by the coronavirus. The delay has not left any key primary contests in limbo. But local officials worry Pennsylvania is unprepared to handle the higher participation expected in the upcoming presidential election and say it could take days to declare a winner.
“I have this nightmare of CNN, Fox, CBS, and everyone else waiting for these things to come in on election night, and we don’t have them,” Luzerne County Manager David Pedri said. Luzerne County, in northeastern Pennsylvania, was captured by President Trump in 2016 after voting Democrat for decades.
Philadelphia was in the same boat.
More than a week after the primary, the largest city in the state was still processing mail-in ballots, in part because more voters participated absentee than did so in the 2016 general election. Officials are warning the country should gird for a delayed call in Pennsylvania this November. If the contest between Trump and presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden is close, the outcome could hinge on Pennsylvania’s 20 votes in the Electoral College.
“News organizations and the public will need to adjust their expectations on when results will be announced,” Philadelphia Deputy Commissioner Nick Custodio told CBS News.
Pennsylvanians of both parties have traditionally voted in person on Election Day.
Then, last year, state lawmakers enacted legislation easing participation in mail-in voting. With voters worried about contracting the COVID-19 virus, interest in voting absentee increased exponentially. More than 1.8 million Pennsylvania voters requested mail-in ballots for the primary. Under state law, cities and counties were not permitted to begin counting mailed-in votes until the day of the primary.
