[SEE UPDATE BELOW]
It's coming down to Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Georgia. The votes are being counted. Well, not so much in Pennsylvania, where workers in Allegheny County, which encompasses Pittsburgh, decided to just take the day off. I’m not kidding. And this was the case on election night as well in the western part of the state. These folks got sleepy and went home. It’s inexcusable. It’s pathetic, really. This date didn’t just pop up on the calendar yesterday. It’s been there for four years. Pennsylvania is a key state for both parties. Its electoral college votes will keep it that way. You stay until all the votes are counted.
Right now, New York Times reporter Trip Gabriel said that “Allegheny County, PA still has 35,413 uncounted mail-in ballots, but elections staff is taking today off for ‘administrative work’ and will not resume count until Friday.”
Allegheny County, PA still has 35,413 uncounted mail-in ballots, but elections staff is taking today off for "administrative work" and will not resume count until Friday. "I can't get an answer as to why,'' says @bethanyhallam, a member of county elections board.
— Trip Gabriel (@tripgabriel) November 5, 2020
Allegheny County PA said self care is so important ?? https://t.co/N5KD873ZHb
— Hannah Jewell (@hcjewell) November 5, 2020
This. is. garbage. https://t.co/bf1WvwZnSN
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) November 5, 2020
Vote counters in a bunch of counties in Western PA have decided to go to bed, per NBC. You gotta be kidding me
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) November 4, 2020
Nevada just says meh, we’re gonna wait another day to tell you who won and everyone’s just like, “OK”
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) November 5, 2020
Gabriel quoted Allegheny council person Bethany Hallam, who is also a member of the elections board, saying "I can't get an answer as to why” concerning these workers taking the day off from counting votes.
No battleground state should tolerate this, to be frank. It’s not healthy for the nation. And lends to accusations of backroom shenanigans being hurled.
***
UPDATE: Well, it looks like there is a reason why Allegheny County can’t count the outstanding ballots right now. Apparently, some company they contracted with shipped out the wrong ballots.
Ryan Deto of Pittsburgh City Paper called out Trip saying today was “not just a day off” because this was court-ordered. He added, “29,000 of 35,000 left can't be legally counted until Friday due to court order. 29,000 are replacement ballots because a contracted company delivered wrong ballots last month. Election return board has to legally meet tomorrow before counting can resume.”
Gabriel did note this as well, but you know how Twitter goes when something goes viral.
Overall, this is just one of the many ways this election has gone off the rails regarding voting and ballots.
Our friends at Twitchy pointed this out.
Not just a day off. 29k of 35k left can't be legally counted until Fri. due to court order. 29k are replacement ballots bc a contracted company delivered wrong ballots last month. Election return board HAS to legally meet tmrw before counting can resume https://t.co/1tvsWBlZiC
— Ryan Deto (@RyanDeto) November 5, 2020
Background on those 29,000 ballots, which had to be resent earlier due to an error from contracted company https://t.co/H8FGFf1IxI
— Ryan Deto (@RyanDeto) November 5, 2020
The elections staff is apparently addressing some of these issues in its "administrative work" today. 3/3
— Trip Gabriel (@tripgabriel) November 5, 2020