Two-thirds of mail-in ballots returned, so far

(The Center Square) – Two-thirds of mail-in ballots requested in Pennsylvania have been returned as of Tuesday.

The Department of State’s daily report shows 1.4 million have been received, including 849,849 from registered Democrats; 468,067 from Republicans; and 155,909 from unaffiliated voters.

The total number of ballots requested will likely still rise as Tuesday is the deadline for voters to ask for one. Overall, more than 9 million residents are registered to vote in the state.

This is the second presidential election in which voters can cast ballots by mail without excuse. In 2020, the untested nature of the method and the long, slow counting process delayed a final result for almost a week and left many residents wary of the outcome.

That cycle, President Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump by just under 81,000 votes, nearly doubling Hilary Clinton’s margin in 2016 when she lost by 44,000 ballots.

After four years, legislators still think Pennsylvania’s election law needs more updates. Still, there’s little consensus about what those reforms should look like.

It’s typically a question of convenience versus security, though both camps would argue it’s not that simple.

Recent scandals, such as batches of fraudulent voter registrations intercepted in Lancaster County, also turn up the pressure on county election boards tasked with processing votes in what many have deemed the “most complex” contest in history.

There’s also been reports of malfeasance and intimidation at offices across the state, from a bomb threat at the Republican Campaign Committee headquarters in Montgomery County to election workers disbanding a line of voters returning ballots in-person in Delaware County.

And earlier this month, a group of House Republican lawmakers said doubling voting, while rare, is still happening – in part due to the disputed reliability of the multi-state Electronic Registration Information Center in which Pennsylvania participates.

For its part, Department of State Secretary Al Schmidt has been holding daily media briefings in the prelude to the Nov. 5 election to answer ongoing questions and reassure voters of ballot security in Pennsylvania.

During his Monday update, the secretary asked residents to “not rush to judgment” regarding the fraudulent registrations found and encouraged voters to request ballots by Tuesday.

Mail-in ballots must be returned to county election offices by 8 p.m. on Nov. 5. Those without a date and signature on the outer envelope will not be counted.