PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Pennsylvania’s top elections official shared his latest update ahead of Election Day.
On Monday, Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt made two commitments to the people of Pennsylvania.
“First, that the November 5 election in Pennsylvania will be free, fair and secure. And second, that all registered voters will have the opportunity to make their voices heard,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt also discussed how long it will take for election results to be announced after the polls close. He said the Pennsylvania Department of State never received final official results on election night.
“The department is confident that counties will work diligently to count every eligible ballot, and we cannot predict what percentage of those votes will be counted on election night,” he said.
Schmidt said nearly 2 million ballots have been returned. Unlike other states, Pennsylvania law does not allow counties to begin opening and counting ballots until 7 a.m. on Election Day.
“That means election officials won’t even be able to remove the ballot from their envelope and prepare it to be counted until then, while those officials will also be operating more than 9,100 polling places across the Commonwealth for in-person voting,” Schmidt said.
After polls close at 8 p.m. Tuesday, counties will begin submitting unofficial results to the Pennsylvania Department of State. These will continue to be updated as pollsters continue to count.
Dave Voye, manager of the Allegheny County Elections Division, told KDKA-TV officials needed to know the county’s election results by midnight. Voye said the province is conducting all kinds of tests before and after the elections, and he assured that the counting of ballots is very safe.
“Your ballot is correctly represented in this county. There are no two ways about it,” Voye said.
Schmidt encourages people to remain vigilant against misinformation or disinformation on Election Day.
“Every registered voter has the right to cast their vote without intimidation, intimidation or discrimination,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt said if you see or experience problems at the polls in Pennsylvania, you should alert the election judge at your polling place. He also recommends contacting your county elections office, district attorney’s office or the Pennsylvania Department of State’s voter hotline at 1-877-VOTESPA.
Jessica Guay
