PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) -- Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar says, with 10 times more mail-in ballots returned in Pennsylvania than in 2016, this election is one for the record books. But she says the actual tallies will not come in for days.
"Vote counting is never finished -- ever finished -- on Election Day. And if we stop counting ballots on Election Day we will be disenfranchising all the men and women who serve our country, all the military and civilian overseas voters, whose ballots, by law, must be accepted up to seven days after the election," Boockvar said, an apparent reference to complaints from President Donald Trump and others about legitimate votes being counted after Election Day.
She says the first priority is to accurately count every legal ballot cast, adding that this election is unprecedented on many levels.
"We all know that there's high tension, a lot of stress, tremendous amounts of disinformation," she said. "That's got to be incredibly confusing. Not to mention record numbers of lawsuits. And yet, we have over 2.5 million Pennsylvanians who have already voted."
The vote-tallying operation in Philadelphia is massive. Every mail-in ballot from voters in the city is in a secured area of the Pennsylvania Convention Center. The operation wasn't allowed to start until 7 a.m. on Election Day, when polls opened.
About 400,000 ballots are expected to be processed at the convention center, when all is said and done. Officials say ballot results will not be posted until after 8 p.m., when polls close. The process is not expected to be completed at that time. It could take a couple of days or more.
The vote count is being done differently this year than last time thanks to a $5 million mechanical system that will sort, count and scan ballots with 12 high-speed scanners. It's expected to speed things up considerably.
City Commissioner Lisa Deeley at the Pennsylvania Convention CenterJohn McDevitt/KYW Newsradio
If any of the results are challenged, Philadelphia City Commissioner Lisa Deeley says that's something she can't worry about right now.
"What is on my mind is that we make sure we get this count done as quickly, but -- far more importantly -- as accurately as possible. That is what I am here for. I know the noise outside. ... What they think they should do, you can do, you know, that is for the lawyers."
