Legislation that could lead to faster election results advances

Harrisburg, Pa. — The Pa. House State Government Committee has advanced House Bill 37, introduced by Rep. Scott Conklin and created to give election workers more time to process mail-in ballots, which could lead to faster election result reporting.

Under current Pa. law, pre-canvassing of absentee and mail-in ballots can’t begin until 7 a.m. on Election Day. Pre-canvassing is defined as inspecting and opening the envelopes that contain the ballots, removing them from the envelopes, and counting, computing, and tallying the votes.