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When will we know who won Pennsylvania? Ex-election chief explains

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Kathy Boockvar joined CBS News’ America Decides to provide insights into Pennsylvania’s ballot-counting and election certification process, outlining what voters can expect in the upcoming election. She noted the distinction between when the majority of ballots will be counted, vs. when the results will be known.  

“In 2020, the overwhelming majority of ballots were counted by Thursday night into Friday morning,” said Boockvar. “The good news is that our election officials have had four more years of practice, they have bought more equipment, know how much staffing they need, and arguably one of the most important things is we are no longer in a global pandemic. There are not all the restrictions we had then. So I think that the ballots will be counted more quickly, which may mean by the end of the day Wednesday [following Election Day this year] instead of Thursday [as in 2020]”   

However, Boockvar emphasized that this does not necessarily mean we will know who wins – that will depend entirely on how close the election is.  She noted that we need to keep in mind that if it’s really close, the military and overseas ballots and provisional ballots will still be in the process of being counted, and if it’s so close that there’s an automatic recount, then knowing the results may take a couple of weeks.  

Boockvar also reminded viewers that in Pennsylvania, election officials are legally prohibited from pre-processing ballots before Election Day, a factor that inherently extends the time required to complete the count and report results. She noted that 45 out of 50 states across the country permit their election officials to begin to process mail ballots days or weeks ahead of Election Day, and that the Pennsylvania state senate has refused to pass a simple law allowing PA election officials to do the same.  

Watch the full interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g70nY4zWTa8