The Allegheny County Board of Elections unanimously certified the results of the Nov. 2 general election in its meeting Monday.
County Executive Rich Fitzgerald applauded the efficient and accurate work of the elections division.
Fitzgerald said it’s clear that election workers have adapted well to the 2019 election changes that expanded mail-in voting.
“You guys are doing a great [job]. We’re getting a system down,” he said.
Republican County Councilor Sam DeMarco, who also sits on the board, also applauded the county’s election team.
“They really have it down pat,” said DeMarco. “Allegheny County did a great job, and I got this feedback from folks throughout the state. On election night, we were able to post all the mail-in and absentee ballots.”
But DeMarco said state lawmakers in Harrisburg need to give more support to counties ahead of midterm elections next year when turnout will be higher.
“I urge our folks at the state level to come to some sort of agreement to allow people to vote easily, provide the election integrity of the election process they want, but to give us tools,” DeMarco said.
Specifically, election divisions need to be able to start scanning mail ballots before 7 a.m. on Election Day — the current requirement — if they want to be able to post results quickly, he said.
“This is difficult for us to handle if we can’t open them until 7 a.m. on Election Day, so our friends need to come to the table," he said.
Voter turnout was 33.29%, with more than 300,000 ballots cast, according to county data. Absentee and mail-in ballots accounted for roughly one-third of all votes.
