Democratic election officials in Pennsylvania are warning voters ballots may take days to count and final results on key races will be delayed.
During a recent interview with NBC news, Acting Secretary of the Commonwealth Leigh Chapman said, "we will not have official returns on Election Night."
"My goal as Acting Secretary of State is to make sure we are educating voters, the public and the media just about how the voting process works in Pennsylvania, how vote counting takes time and because of the restrictions we have with our state law, we will not have official returns on Election Night," Chapman said. "Election workers in our 67 counties can only start opening ballots at 7 am on Election Day...starting at 8 p.m. when the polls close, that's when the counties can release the results. So it takes time. We are not like other states that have weeks to pre-canvas."
Chapman went on to explain that her office has requested the next governor work to pass legislation that would give election workers the ability to start counting mail-in ballots two weeks before Election Day in order to provide results in a timely fashion.
That statement is not sitting well with GOP operatives.
No. Unacceptable.
— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) October 26, 2022
Fire her if she can’t count ballots in one night. https://t.co/01Oa2TsG5F
Meanwhile, the Republican National Committee filed a lawsuit against the state earlier this month after election officials openly stated they would violate the law to count ineligible and undated mail-in ballots.
Every county is expected to include undated ballots in their official returns for the Nov election, consistent with guidance & @CommCtofPA decision. Today’s order from SCOTUS vacating Third Circuit’s judgment on mootness grounds does not affect the prior decision of @CommCtofPA. pic.twitter.com/eDiYpvLZYV
— PA Department of State (@PAStateDept) October 11, 2022
“As the Pennsylvania legislature and U.S. Supreme Court have made clear, undated mail-in ballots should not be counted. Republicans are holding Pennsylvania Democrats accountable for their brazen defiance of the Supreme Court and the rules duly set by the legislature," RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, NRCC Chairman Tom Emmer and PAGOP Chairman Lawrence Tabas released in a joint statement. "Pennsylvania Democrats have a history of election integrity failures and Pennsylvanians deserve better: this lawsuit is the latest step in Republican efforts to promote free, fair, and transparent elections in the Keystone State.”