Lancaster County Election Commissioner Todd Wiltgen says most ballots from last week’s general election have been counted, with the remaining ballots expected to be processed Friday. Wiltgen tells KLIN News his office is still reviewing nearly 3,000 provisional ballots.
“Those are those people who showed up on election day who are not registered at that precinct,” Wiltgen says. “They’re still permitted to vote, they’re permitted to cast a provisional ballot. They’ll have to fill out extra paperwork.”
Wiltgen says they are still resolving ballots that could not be read by counting machines because of unclear markings or other problems. He says the remaining ballots are not expected to change the outcome of any major races or ballot issues, although a few close village races could be affected.
Wiltgen says voter turnout also differed from historical trends. About 65 percent of voters cast their ballots on Election Day, compared with 35 percent who voted early. Historically, about 55 percent vote on Election Day and 45 percent vote early. He believes uncertainty surrounding a federal executive order, the courts and mail delivery may have influenced when people chose to vote.
Wiltgen says the county also learned that two-page ballots significantly increase counting time. This year’s ballots took about six hours to process, compared with roughly three hours for a typical election with one-page ballots.
He also reports 26 voters cast provisional ballots after arriving at polling places without the required photo ID. None had visited the Election Commission as of Tuesday morning to provide identification.
Those voters have until 4:30 Tuesday afternoon to show their photo ID for their ballots to be counted.