State Sen. Scavello supports early counting of mail-in ballots

State Sen. Scavello supports early counting of mail-in ballots

By  Brittany Sweeney

March 2, 2021

Election season is ramping up for the Pennsylvania primary election on May 18 and there has been talk about mail-in ballots and whether election officials should be able to process them before election day.

The coronavirus pandemic has caused millions of people to cast their vote via mail-in ballot. Since state law does not currently allow those votes to be opened until 7 a.m. on Election Day, there is a bit of a challenge to get them all counted in a timely way. 

Pennsylvania lawmakers may soon propose legislation to allow the processing of mail-in ballots days before the election. Results took days to come in during the general election.

State Sen. Mario Scavello (R-Monroe), who also represents part of Northampton County, says he’s in favor. 

“I would support that. I don’t think it should have to be, you know, on that night, I think people want to know who won. At the end of the day, they don’t want to wait two and three or four days later. So I would support it,” Scavello says. 

However, with the primary two and half months away, some legislators don’t feel there is enough time to pass a bill that would change the current law.

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