When does pennsylvania count mail in ballots

In Pennsylvania, mail-in ballots are counted on Election Day, which is typically the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. However, the process of counting mail-in ballots is a bit more complex and involves several steps.

Here's a general outline of when and how mail-in ballots are counted in Pennsylvania:

  1. Deadline for receipt of mail-in ballots: Mail-in ballots must be received by the county election office by 8:00 PM on Election Day. This means that ballots must be postmarked by the day before Election Day and received by the county office by the evening of Election Day.
  2. Pre-canvassing: Before Election Day, county election offices will begin pre-canvassing mail-in ballots. This involves opening the envelopes, removing the ballots, and verifying the signatures on the envelopes match the signatures on file.
  3. Election Day: On Election Day, county election offices will continue pre-canvassing mail-in ballots and begin counting them. This process typically starts around 7:00 AM and continues throughout the day.
  4. Counting: Mail-in ballots are counted using a combination of manual and machine counting. County election officials will manually count ballots that are damaged or have issues with the voting system, while machine counting is used for ballots that are properly marked and can be read by the voting system.
  5. Certification: Once all mail-in ballots have been counted, county election officials will certify the results. This involves verifying the accuracy of the count and ensuring that all ballots were counted correctly.
  6. Reporting results: The certified results are then reported to the Pennsylvania Department of State, which compiles the statewide results and reports them to the public.

It's worth noting that Pennsylvania has a law that requires mail-in ballots to be counted, even if they are received after Election Day. This is known as "late-arriving ballots" or "late-arriving mail-in ballots." These ballots are counted as long as they are received by the county election office within 6 days after Election Day.