Midterm Election Results: PA May Need To Wait 'Days' For Final Tally

PENNSYLVANIA — With a handful of races that look like they could be decided by a razor thin margin in Pennsylvania, and mail-in vote counting only just underway, it could be some time until final election results are known. Some 1.4 million Pennsylvanians requested mail-in ballots, and "the overwhelming majority of all ballots will be counted within a few days after the election," the Department of State said Tuesday morning.

Under Pennsylvania law, counties can begin pre-canvassing mail-in ballots at 7 a.m. Tuesday. It's not clear how long delays will be this year, but election officials do not believe results will be available on Nov. 8.

"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," Acting Secretary of State Leigh Chapman said in a statement Tuesday. "An accurate count of all eligible votes is paramount, and it cannot be rushed."

Final results in the 2020 election were not known until late morning on Nov. 7.

Gov. Tom Wolf's administration and election chiefs in some counties have pushed for earlier pre-canvassing times to expedite results, but the process remains steeped in controversy largely stewed by Republican-led lawsuits.

RELATED: PA 2022 Election Preview: Everything You Need To Know

Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.

"We understand that voters, candidates and the media want election results as soon as possible," Chapman added. "But counting all the eligible votes and reporting the results take time, and counties are rightfully focused on accuracy over speed."

The high-stakes 2022 midterm elections will determine the balance of power in U.S. Congress and the future policy direction on major issues like abortion in several swing states. Pennsylvania has two hugely consequential races for U.S. Senate and governor.

The winner of the gubernatorial race between Attorney General Josh Shapiro and State Sen. Doug Mastriano will not only be the determining factor in the future of touchstone issues like abortion in Pennsylvania, but will also be in charge of running election returns in 2024. With mail-in balloting and other election laws still points of heavy contention, the governor will have an outsized impact on the results.

The winner of the U.S. Senate between Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz, race, meanwhile, could tilt the body either red or blue. The Senate is currently split between 50 Democrats (including two independents that caucus with the party) and 50 Republicans.

Elsewhere around the country

It was two weeks after the 2020 election that the final race was called, according to an analysis by The New York Times. It’s important to keep in mind that results in the highly decentralized U.S. elections are unofficial until they can be canvassed and certified. They inevitably change as more ballots are counted.

Different states have different rules on the time allotted to count mail ballots. Some states give local officials several weeks before Election Day to process ballots, including checking signatures and verifying identification information. Others delay counting until polls close, which means results may not be known until Wednesday or later.

Most states require mail-in ballots to be received on or before Election Day, but 19 allow a grace period as long as they’re postmarked on Election Day. In California, for example, such ballots can be received up to seven days later.

For its analysis, The Times asked election officials in every state and Washington, D.C., what they expect to happen this year, and whether any rules had changed in two years that could affect how votes are counted and reported.

• Related: Why Midterm Election Results May Not Be Known Right Away

While 2020 was an extraordinary year with an unprecedented crush of legal challenges, 2022 could bring more of the same, further delaying an official call on races. Republican Party officials have already filed lawsuits to disqualify thousands of mail ballots in swing states Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, The Washington Post reported.

The volume of ballots to be processed also slowed things down in 2020, when more than 158.4 million people, or 62.8 percent of eligible voters, cast ballots in the highest voter turnout in decades.

In the last midterm election in 2018, about 52 percent of voting-age U.S. voting age turned out, according to an analysis by Pew Research Center based on Census Bureau estimates of the 2020 voting-age population.

Some political analysts predict heavy turnout in the 2022 midterms. Pew Research Center said a recent survey showed 72 percent of registered voters say they’re “extremely” or “very” motivated to vote this year, and 65 percent say it “really matters” which party wins control of Congress — a level roughly on par with the run-up to the 2018 vote.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.