Your Questions Answered: How Are Votes Certified in Pa.?

Our elections work because we have safeguards built into our electoral process to confirm final election results are accurate and fair. Key to ensuring the integrity of the system is certification, the statutory process by which officials sign off on the completion of election results.

State law has long established that officials have a mandatory, nondiscretionary duty to certify elections. Refusal to do so is illegal. In this presidential election year, state executives must certify their state’s slate of presidential electors by Dec. 11.

In Pennsylvania, counties are responsible for conducting elections, counting results and providing original certification. County election officials who do not certify election results – after a series of checks and balances in the casting, counting and canvassing processes are completed – can be taken to court for refusing to do so.

Fortunately, Pennsylvania officials have several legal tools available to respond to any certification issues that arise — and to help prevent them in the first place.

Two former election directors with nearly 25 years of combined experience on the frontlines of administering elections know the process well and remind voters that they can be confident in how Pennsylvania’s elections are run.

In a joint column to The (York) Dispatch, Jerry Feaser, who spent 10 years as Dauphin County elections director, and Jeff Greenburg, a senior adviser on election administration at the Committee of Seventy and former Mercer County elections director for 13 years, describe the tried-and-tested systems that ensure votes are cast fairly and counted correctly.

During the post-election process, ballots from Election Day and the mail are verified and counted, ensuring eligibility and accuracy every step of the way. Officials carefully follow these legal procedures to ensure exactly one vote per one eligible voter is counted. The final vote count is audited twice to confirm accuracy. Local election vote counts are publicized and certified in public meetings, where residents can attend and see for themselves.

Safeguards prevent baseless challenges aimed at delaying or blocking certification. Counties prioritize accuracy and security above all else as they count ballots and certify the results in a timely manner.

Thanks to these built-in processes, voters can rest assured that this year’s Pennsylvania election should run smoothly, and the final results will be accurate.