Counties to conduct audits and recount before certifying results

Counties across Pennsylvania are preparing to audit election results to make sure vote totals reflect the will of the voters. Pennsylvania requires two types of audits before results are certified, clearing the way for elected officials to be sworn into office. The public likes a quick resolution to Election Day, but the reality is it takes at least three weeks to make Pennsylvania’s results official. That’s by law, and for every election, not just this one. Pennsylvania has four state House races that are too close to for the media to call as of Friday afternoon, in Bucks, Butler, Lancaster, and Montgomery counties. But for official final results, election officials need to finish counting provisional and still-arriving overseas military ballots by Tuesday, then conduct two rounds of audits on the results. Charles Stewart III is a professor of political science at MIT and is one of the country’s foremost elections researchers. He said audits are important for accuracy and trust in ele