{"id":2332412,"date":"2024-08-28T09:42:59","date_gmt":"2024-08-28T13:42:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mail-ballots-cause-headaches-for-tracking-vote-totals-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-08-28T09:51:44","modified_gmt":"2024-08-28T13:51:44","slug":"mail-ballots-cause-headaches-for-tracking-vote-totals-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mail-ballots-cause-headaches-for-tracking-vote-totals-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Mail ballots cause headaches for tracking vote totals &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmail-ballots-cause-headaches-for-tracking-vote-totals-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2332412&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The\u200c article discusses a \u200cproposal\u2062 put forth by Pennsylvania <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/saturdays-fun-fraud-facts-seven-unexplainable-results-that-reveal-democrats-didnt-even-try-to-hide-their-fraud\/\" title=\"Saturday&#039;s Fun Fraud Facts: Seven Unexplainable Results that Reveal Democrats Didn&#039;t Even Try to Hide Their Fraud\">state legislator<\/a> Rep. Brad Roae to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/federal-court-chides-dem-activists-theres-nothing-racist-about-election-integrity-laws-like-floridas\/\" title=\"Federal court dismisses claims of racism in Florida&#039;s election integrity laws, rebukes Democratic activists.\">increase election transparency<\/a> by restoring online precinct count updates that were removed from the Department of State&#8217;s website. This proposal stems from changes made to elections following the passage of Act 77 in\u2062 2019, which allowed more mail-in voting. Roae argues that the removal of this information limits public access to election results and reduces transparency. He emphasizes that the previously available data showed\u200b voters the progress\u200b of precinct counts and the\u2064 percentage of precincts reported, \u200da feature \u200che describes as &#8220;common sense.&#8221; In contrast, state election officials claim that reinstating\u2064 the \u200dprecinct counts could create more complications, especially \u200bgiven the \u2063rising number of mail-in ballots.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Mail ballots cause headaches for tracking vote totals<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1739147\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>(The Center Square) &mdash; A proposal for election transparency has one state legislator going against the Department of State. At the center of the split: changes made to Pennsylvania&rsquo;s elections stemming from the passage of Act 77 of 2019.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Rep. Brad Roae, R-Meadville, introduced House Bill 2542 to require the Department to again update precinct counts online, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/minority-leader-mcconnell-far-left-wants-to-change-election-senate-rules\/\" title=\"Minority Leader McConnell: Far-left wants to change election, Senate rules\">allowing voters<\/a> to see how the count is progressing.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The election returns portion of the Department of State website previously showed how many voting precincts there were and how many precincts had been counted,&rdquo; Roae wrote in a legislative memo. &ldquo;It also showed what percent of the precincts had reported. The Department of State still gets this information, but they removed it from their website so that citizens can no longer see it.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Restoring those counts to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ga-poll-watcher-it-expert-non-trump-supporter-affidavit-sudden-surge-of-20000-mail-in-votes-for-biden-in-early-hours-on-nov\/\" title=\"GA Poll Watcher, IT Expert, Non-Trump Supporter Affidavit: Sudden Surge of 20,000 Mail-In-Votes For Biden In Early Hours On Nov\">state website<\/a>, he argued, was a &ldquo;common sense piece of legislation.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;They took that away, so the public has less access to election results; there&rsquo;s less transparency and I&rsquo;m trying to fix it,&rdquo; Roae said.<\/p>\n<p>In the memo, he argued there is &ldquo;no valid reason for removing this important piece of information from the Department of State website.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>State elections officials, however, disagree. Restoring the precinct count, they argued, would create more problems.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;With the increased number of mail-in ballots cast in each election since the passage of Act 77, this information no longer accurately reflected the progress of total vote counting and so was removed prior to the 2020 General Election,&rdquo; Department of State Press Secretary Matt Heckel said. &ldquo;This is because mail ballots are counted by county boards of elections, not by precincts. Displaying only the number of precincts reporting returns will not capture the true progress of canvassing and counting both in person and mail ballots.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>A precinct counter would only show in-person votes, giving the public a false impression. Mail ballots don&rsquo;t have a precinct-level designation, according to the department.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If we post how many precincts have counted votes and how many are still out there, it just doesn&rsquo;t accurately reflect how many mail-in ballots are out there,&rdquo; Heckel said. &ldquo;Obviously, since 2020, that&rsquo;s a large portion of the remaining ballots. We thought it was confusing to folks and just wasn&rsquo;t all that accurate.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Instead of a precinct count, the department publishes a supplemental report online that updates once a day and includes in-person ballots, along with absentee and mail ballots.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1739147\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1739147\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mail ballots complicate the tracking of vote totals (The Center Square) \u2014 A state legislator is challenging the Department of State over a proposal aimed at enhancing election transparency. The disagreement revolves around modifications to Pennsylvania&#8217;s electoral process resulting from Act 77 of 2019. Representative Brad Roae, R-Meadville, has put forward House Bill 2542, which would mandate the Department to update precinct counts online again, enabling voters to monitor the counting progress. In a legislative memo, Roae noted that the election returns section on the Department of State&#8217;s website previously displayed both the number of voting precincts and how many had been counted. He stated that while this information is still collected by the Department, it has been removed from public view. Roae described reinstating these counts on the state website as &#8220;common sense legislation,&#8221; arguing that their removal has reduced public access to election results and transparency: \u201cThey took that away, so I\u2019m trying to fix it,\u201d he said. He contended there was &#8220;no valid reason&#8221; for eliminating this crucial information from their site.<\/p>\n<p>However, state election officials disagree with Roae\u2019s perspective. They argue that restoring precinct counts would lead to further complications due to an increase in mail-in ballots since Act 77 was enacted. Matt Heckel, Press Secretary for the Department of State, explained that mail ballots are counted by county boards rather than by precincts; thus displaying only precinct reporting does not accurately reflect overall vote counting progress for both in-person and mail-in votes. According to Heckel, showing how many precincts have reported could mislead people about remaining mail-in ballots since they lack a specific precinct designation: \u201cIf we post how many precincts have counted votes&#8230; it just doesn\u2019t accurately reflect how many mail-in ballots are out there.\u201d Instead of providing a count by precincts, the department offers a daily updated supplemental report online that includes totals for in-person voting as well as absentee and mail-in ballots<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2332413,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/AP22311847253413.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[39511,37707,39510,39512,32076],"class_list":["post-2332412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-election-challenges","tag-mail-ballots","tag-vote-tracking","tag-voting-process","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/AP22311847253413.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2332412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2332412"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2332412\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2332413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2332412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2332412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2332412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}