Pennsylvania updates election results site ahead of primary

The Pennsylvania Department of State on Monday announced it redesigned its election night returns website to offer up-to-the minute results from counties after polls close for the primary election on Tuesday.

In addition to the revamped site, the department also announced enhancements to file processing to improve security and accuracy of the site on election night, according to a press release.

“Our election night returns website will provide voters, candidates and members of the media with a resource to find the most comprehensive picture of how Pennsylvanians voted,” Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt said in the release. “The department will post unofficial results on the site as we receive reports from each of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties after the polls close at 8 p.m.”

The new website’s revamped interface is intended to be mobile-friendly and allow voters to navigate between statewide and county-level results, according to the release. Additionally, visitors should expect to receive timely updates on races they want to track and use location services to review county election returns.

As of Monday morning, county election offices throughout the state had received more than 60% of the ballots mailed to eligible voters, according to the release. Pennsylvania’s election laws do not allow counties to begin pre-canvassing mail-in and absentee ballots prior to 7 a.m. on election day.

During the November 2023 election, a software error on the Ohio Summit County Board of Election website confused voters and candidates. On the night of the election, the county’s overall unofficial results reflected only 4% of precincts reporting, while individual contests indicated 100% precincts reporting because the website vendor labeled the percentages incorrectly.

During an election night in 2022, results were delayed in Tarrant County, Texas, due to technical difficulties on its websites.