(The Center Square) – Pennsylvania remains one of a few states where poll workers don’t process ballots before Election Day.
Supporters of pre-canvassing, as it’s called, believe giving counties more time to open envelopes and prepare ballots for counting will deliver faster results.
As it stands, poll workers can’t begin the pre-canvassing process until 7 a.m. on Election Day. Counting doesn’t start until the polls close at 8 p.m. and must continue until all ballots are tabulated.
A bill to expand the pre-canvassing window up to seven days before the polls open – and no longer put time constraints on counting – narrowly passed the state House window amid uproar from 99 Republican legislators who said it will delay results for days and undermine voters’ trust.
“Counties could start dealing with the mail-in ballots a week before the election, but they don’t have to,” said Rep. Brad Roae, R-Meadville. “They don’t even
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