/https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5f8df87f00ae5e6f3ff80602/0x0.jpg?cropX1=0&cropX2=4500&cropY1=77&cropY2=2609&w=1200&resize=1200,675&ssl=1 "Pennsylvania Presidential Result Likely To Come Days After Election As Talks Stall On Early Count")
Topline
GOP lawmakers in Pennsylvania released a statement Monday saying they have “no plans” to compromise with Democrats to pass legislation that could allow counties to start processing ballots before Election Day, all but ensuring that it will take days to know who won the presidential election in one of the most consequential battleground states.
A voter casts his early voting ballot at drop box outside of City Hall on October 17, 2020 in … [+]
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Key Facts
A Pennsylvania House GOP spokesman said Monday that the caucus has “no plans at this time to consider changes to the Election Code” because Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf “has not put anything on the table that can get through our caucus and has once again removed himself from the process of discussing the issue.”
The lawmakers had been negotiating over a bill that would allow counties to start counting mail-in ballots before the current time of 7:00 a.m. on Election Day.
Republicans passed a bill that would start ballot processing three days before the election, but attached partisan measures like limiting where voters can return mail-in ballots and eliminating a requirement that poll watchers can only work in counties in which they’re registered, which the GOP has opposed in a bid to send more poll watchers to Democratic strongholds like Philadelphia.
Wolf threatened to veto that legislation, but offered other provisions like increasing security measures for ballot drop boxes.
At a press conference Monday, Wolf acknowledged the GOP statement meant the bill was “dead,” but expressed optimism that some sort of legislation could potentially still be passed in time.
Crucial Quote
“My guess is if we’re only allowed to start [processing ballots] on Election Day, it’s going to be three, four, five days after the election when we’ll have these things scanned and counted,” Eugene DiGirolamo, a Republican county commissioner in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, told the Associated Press. “I am just scared to death that Pennsylvania is going to look really bad, especially if the election for president is close and they’re waiting for results from the battleground states like Pennsylvania truly is.”
Big Number
2,799,753. That’s the number of mail-in ballots that have been requested so far in Pennsylvania, according to the U.S. Elections Project, and 899,534 people have voted in the state so far. County election officials cited by the AP believe approximately 3 million people will vote by mail in Pennsylvania this election, which would be more than 10 times the number of people who did so in 2016.
Key Background
Pennsylvania has become one of the hotbeds for election disputes ahead of the November presidential election, in which the battleground state is expected to play a pivotal role. Current polling shows Joe Biden maintaining approximately a six-point lead over President Donald Trump. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule imminently on whether the state can extend its deadline for accepting mail-in ballots after Election Day, and the courts have delivered a series of rulings on voting-related issues, including upholding the state’s ballot boxes and mandating that ballots be returned in a secrecy envelope, spurring a massive voter education effort as elections officials warned up to 100,000 ballots could be rejected as a result. The state Supreme Court is also expected to soon weigh in on whether ballots can be rejected or challenged by third parties for signature discrepancies. In addition to their negotiations over when to start processing ballots, the state’s GOP lawmakers have also drawn controversy this election cycle over a now-abandoned plan to establish an “election integrity” commission that would recommend changes to how the state conducts its elections, which Wolf decried as an attempt by Republicans to “steal the election.”
What To Watch For
The reliance on mail-in voting amid the Covid-19 pandemic has raised the likelihood that the victor of the presidential election won’t be known until after Election Day. In addition to Pennsylvania, the timeline for processing ballots means results could also potentially be delayed by at least a day in several other key battleground states, including Michigan and Wisconsin. The potential delay in receiving election results has spurred fears among Democrats that Trump could potentially claim victory prematurely and sow chaos, as polling shows that his supporters are more likely to vote in person while Democrats gravitate toward mail-in voting. The litany of legal disputes in Pennsylvania and ongoing uncertainty about the state’s voting rules has also raised the specter of chaos in the state, with experts warning that the counting process could get bogged down by more legal challenges. “I happen to think that Pennsylvania could be ground zero in the country for determining the outcome of the presidential election because of the delays from litigation,” Philadelphia-based lawyer Matt Haverstick told Spotlight PA in October. “I have a feeling we are going to be the Florida of 2020.”
Further Reading
Prospects dim for critical election bill in Pennsylvania (Associated Press)
Pennsylvania could become ‘ground zero’ for court battles on and after Election Day (Spotlight PA)
Pennsylvania Mail-In Ballot Ruling Could Cause 100,000 Ballots To Be Rejected, Official Warns (Forbes)
Supreme Court’s First Post-RBG Case Will Target Pennsylvania’s Mail-In Voting (Forbes)
Philly Judge Strikes Down Trump Campaign’s Poll Watcher Plan (Forbes)
Philadelphia Developing Anti-Voter Intimidation Plan After Trump Tells Supporters To Watch The Polls (Forbes)
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