Counting mail-in ballots could take several days after Tuesday’s election, especially since a record number of citizens have voted that way due to the coronavirus pandemic, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney wrote in an open letter to city residents, Fox News reported on Monday.
This means that the entire national election could be waiting for the results from Pennsylvania, which is a key swing state, to determine the overall winner.
Kenney, who is a Democrat, said in his letter that the “process and procedures favor no party or group,” He added that staffers are not allowed to start counting the mail-in ballots until Election Day, unlike in other states, due to a law passed by the state legislature, which is controlled by Republicans.
This is of added importance because many more Democrats are believed to have voted by mail than Republicans, meaning that President Donald Trump is likely to have opened up a lead among those casting a ballot in-person on Election Day, which are the votes that will overwhelmingly be counted first.
As Trump’s lead likely narrows due to the counting of mail-in voters, there are fears that the president will try and cast doubt on the validness of these ballots.
Pollster Nate Silver told ABC’s “This Week” that the election will come down to Pennsylvania, because the state “has not bumped up to a seven or eight-point Biden lead, like we see in Michigan and Wisconsin, its 5 points,” which means there is more chance for Trump to win the state.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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