The rules add a layer to the mail-in ballot process that can take a significant amount of time to complete.
After the 2020 election, Pennsylvania slowly counted mail ballots due to a process that was being widely used for the first time. The process includes checking signatures and dates, opening envelopes, stacking ballots, and scanning them through ballot counting machines. This slow count resulted in claims that mass election fraud was occurring in the Commonwealth.
Secretary of State Al Schmidt said in an interview, “That period of uncertainty is something that is exploited by bad-faith actors to undermine the confidence in the outcome.”
A common suggestion to improve the speed of counting mail ballots is to allow counties to start precanvassing absentee and mail ballots before Election Day rolls around. State law defines precanvass as the “inspection and opening of all envelopes containing official absentee ballots of mail-in ballots, the removal of such ballots from the envelopes, and the counting, computing, and tallying of the votes reflected on the ballots.”
Pennsylvania is one of seven states that does not allow election workers to begin processing ballots before 7:00 a.m. on Election Day.
43 states allow the processing of ballots before Election Day, while 12 of those states also allow votes to be tallied before Election Day. Most of these states have strict rules against releasing results early. Wisconsin and Georgia, other critical swing states in this election, are also not permitted to begin processing ballots until Election Day.
The steps to processing mail ballots do require significant labor and time. Election directors across the state say that being permitted to do some of the work before Election Day would allow for a smoother process that does not significantly delay results.
