Pennsylvania could see days-long delays in midterm results
All eyes are on Pennsylvania on Tuesday, as midterm elections in the Keystone State could go a long way toward deciding the balance of power in Congress. However, the results of some key races in the state may not be known for days, experts say.
Particular scrutiny was placed on Philadelphia, where The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that officials in the state's largest city voted Tuesday morning to "reinstate a time-consuming and labor-intensive process for catching double votes that will slow how quickly they can report results." This decision, which came on the back of pressure from a Republican lawsuit, means it will likely take a number of days to tabulate all the votes from the city.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Beyond this, NPR noted that many states allow early "pre-canvassing" of mail-in votes — that is, tasks such as checking voter signatures, taking out ballots, and preparing them for scanning as they come in. However, Pennsylvania is one of a number of states where pre-canvassing cannot legally start until 7 a.m. on Election Day.
This will add to the turnaround time for poll workers across the state, but officials stressed that delays in counting did not translate to any voter fraud.
"Unofficial results will be available within a few days of the election, and it's critically important for everyone to understand that this delay does not mean anything nefarious is happening," Pennsylvania's acting secretary of state Leigh Chapman said in a statement.
-
The Olympic timekeepers keeping the Games on trackUnder the Radar Swiss watchmaking giant Omega has been at the finish line of every Olympic Games for nearly 100 years
-
Will increasing tensions with Iran boil over into war?Today’s Big Question President Donald Trump has recently been threatening the country
-
Corruption: The spy sheikh and the presidentFeature Trump is at the center of another scandal
-
Judge orders Washington slavery exhibit restoredSpeed Read The Trump administration took down displays about slavery at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia
-
Hyatt chair joins growing list of Epstein files losersSpeed Read Thomas Pritzker stepped down as executive chair of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation over his ties with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
-
Judge blocks Hegseth from punishing Kelly over videoSpeed Read Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed for the senator to be demoted over a video in which he reminds military officials they should refuse illegal orders
-
Trump’s EPA kills legal basis for federal climate policySpeed Read The government’s authority to regulate several planet-warming pollutants has been repealed
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
-
Bondi, Democrats clash over Epstein in hearingSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi ignored survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and demanded that Democrats apologize to Trump
-
El Paso airspace closure tied to FAA-Pentagon standoffSpeed Read The closure in the Texas border city stemmed from disagreements between the Federal Aviation Administration and Pentagon officials over drone-related tests
-
Judge blocks Trump suit for Michigan voter rollsSpeed Read A Trump-appointed federal judge rejected the administration’s demand for voters’ personal data
