Hearing For Provisional Ballot Challenges Is Monday In Chesco

CHESTER COUNTY, PA — Chester County Voter Services is still examining 4,035 provisional ballots cast in Chester County and challenges by either party will be heard on Monday before the County Election Board.

A hearing for the Chester County Election Board to consider all challenges to provisional ballots cast in the Nov.3 General Election begins at 9 a.m. Monday in the Chester County Commissioners' Meeting Room, 6th Floor, 313 W. Market St., in West Chester. It will also be livestreamed on Facebook.

The provisional ballot challenges may alter final numbers slightly, but Democrats won big in Chester County, where Joe Biden is ahead of Donald Trump 53,477 votes in the Friday morning tally update, according to Democratic Party Chair Dick Bingham.

Of Pennsylvania's 67 counties, Chester County's shift toward voting Democrat was the widest in the state. Biden's lead of more than 17 percentage points over Trump approaches double the margin by which Hillary Clinton won here in 2016. Clinton beat Trump by 9.4 percentage points, Bingham reported.

Chester County reports 4,035 provisional ballots were cast at polling places on Election Day. Election officials have been reviewing every provisional ballot with appointed members of the Republican and Democratic parties to determine the number of challenged provisional ballots.

Bingham said as of Friday morning about 1,200 ballots had yet to be reviewed and parties expected to finish the review by the end of the day. He said several members of each party are present, "and their lawyers are there."

He explained the process of arriving at ballot challenges. Voter Services researches every ballot, asking why the person voted provisionally and other questions. Chester County Voter Services makes a recommendation to the party, and the parties then can challenge that recommendation.

Those whose provisional ballots have been challenged may be contacted by Chester County Voter Services by telephone or email before the hearing, the county said today. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, anyone not directly involved in the hearing must attend on Chester County Government’s Facebook page livestream Monday morning. The hearing will be recorded and posted on the Chester County Government website.

"There's been no letup of things to do," Bingham said.

The Trump Campaign this week filed a lawsuit against election boards in seven Pennsylvania counties, including Chester County.

"As best I can tell, the lawsuit is frivolous. It forestalls the inevitable," Bingham said.

The Republican Party of Chester County did not return a call for comment.

Bingham provided some analysis of the Chester County vote by party. Even though Democratic wins were huge here overall, he noted that down-ballot races reveal the county has not shifted Blue to the degree the presidential race alone would indicate.

"There's disappointing news in our numbers, and across the state," he said. Candidates like U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-6th) had fewer 6,660 votes than Biden, and Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro had 13,000 fewer votes in Chester County than Biden had.

"That's a fairly substantial down-ballot loss. It suggests that 6,600 Republicans voted for Biden, but not for other Democrats," said Bingham.

Bingham did not know how many challenges there were to provisional ballots right now. He said he'd been told there were "a lot of rejections of ballots of first-time without ID."