logo
Weather page
GET THE APP
ePaper
google_play
app_store
  • Login
  • E-Edition
    • Marketplace
  • News
  • Sports
  • Obituaries
  • Opinion
  • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • All Listings
    • Jobs
  • Special Sections
  • Photo Gallery
  • Contests
  • Lifestyle/Entertainment
  • Games
    • News
      • Local News
      • PA State News
      • Nation/World
    • Sports
      • Local
      • College Sports
      • State
      • National
    • Obituaries
    • Opinion
      • News
        • Local News
        • PA State News
        • Nation/World
      • Sports
        • Local
        • College Sports
        • State
        • National
      • Obituaries
      • Opinion
    logo
    • Classifieds
      • Place an Ad
      • All Listings
      • Jobs
    • E-Edition
      • Marketplace
    • Subscribe
    • Login
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • All Listings
        • Jobs
      • E-Edition
        • Marketplace
      • Subscribe
      • Login
    Home Opinion Pa. should protect its vote
    Pa. should protect its vote
    Opinion, Сolumns
    September 16, 2020

    Pa. should protect its vote

    By EDWARD FOLEY

    HARRISBURG (TNS) — Pennsylvania, please don’t be like New York—at least not in the amount of time it takes to count mailed ballots.

    New York’s primary this summer took six weeks for counting to finish.

    Pennsylvania’s June 2 primary wasn’t quite so bad. Counting was complete on June 29, four weeks later.

    Four weeks, though better than six, should still make officials nervous.

    There are a couple of key December deadlines that Congress has set for the Nov. 3 election.

    Dec. 8, five weeks after Election Day, is the “safe harbor” deadline. It is optional, but highly advantageous. Congress has promised states that if they complete counting ballots by that date, then Congress will not second-guess the state’s final numbers when Congress meets on Jan. 6 to accept the state’s Electoral College votes.

    Dec. 14, six days after the “safe harbor” deadline, is not optional. It’s the date Congress has set for each state’s Electoral College meeting. Congress picks the date, but the Constitution requires that the “day be the same throughout the United States.”

    Simply put, if Pennsylvania wants to participate in the Electoral College, its electors must cast their votes for president on Dec. 14. And if Pennsylvania wants electors appointed based on ballots cast on Nov. 3, then it must complete counting those ballots by Dec. 14.

    Some say a state could miss the Dec. 14 deadline as long as it finishes ballots before Congress meets on Jan. 6. This is a mistake. While perhaps Congress could accept Electoral College votes that violate the constitutional requirement of being cast on the “same” day nationwide, it would be dangerous for a state to expect Congress to contravene this constitutional command.

    In fact, this issue was decisive in the disputed Hayes-Tilden election of 1876. Florida had recounted its ballots in favor of Tilden after its Electoral College meeting. Justice Joseph Bradley, sitting on the Electoral Commission created to resolve the dispute, explained the Commission’s ruling for Hayes as based on the principle that any change Florida made after the nationally uniform day of Electoral College meetings was “unconstitutional and void.”

    Thus, failing to finish counting ballots by Dec. 14 would be most perilous.

    Don’t worry, you might think—surely, there is little risk that counting votes will take so long, since the state finished its June counting in four weeks. But not only will there be more mailed ballots to count in November, they are more likely to be subjected to challenges, as is permitted by state law.

    Without wading into the details of Pennsylvania’s procedures for permitting challenges to mailed ballots, and appeals from denials of those challenges, there is a risk that those challenges and appeals could bog the process down to the point of endangering the state’s ability to meet the Dec. 8, or even Dec. 14, deadline.

    The best way to reduce this risk is for Pennsylvania’s legislature to enact a law, as other states have (including Indiana, Ohio, and Virginia), that requires vote-counting procedures in a presidential election to be complete by the federal “safe harbor” date. This kind of explicit law would both obligate and empower officials to expedite challenges and appeals as necessary to finish on time.

    Pennsylvania’s legislature is currently considering revisions to its ballot-counting rules to speed up the process. One change would permit the “pre-canvassing” of mailed ballots before election day. That’s a good move, but it’s not sufficient to eliminate the risk of missing the December deadlines. Instead, the legislature should supplement this sensible measure with the added requirement that none of the state’s various vote-counting procedures—not recounts, ballot challenges, or otherwise—may be permitted to deprive Pennsylvania of the congressionally promised “safe harbor” status.

    Pennsylvania’s legislature should enact this measure for the sake of the state’s own voters. In doing so, it would make the presidential election go more smoothly for the benefit of the whole nation.

    (Edward B. Foley directs the Election Law program at The Ohio State University.)

    Tags:

    counting deadline electoral college ministries pennsylvania politics procedure state vote

    The Bradford Era

    Local & Social
    ePaper
    google_play
    app_store
    Latest news for you
    A case for hunting young
    Local News, Local Sports, News, ...
    A case for hunting young
    By STEVE SHERK Jr.  Special to The Era  
    July 12, 2025
    I’ll never forget when a good friend of mine, when I was in my early teens, told me that I should play more sports instead of going hunting. He said t...
    Read More...
    {"newsletter-daily-headlines":"Daily Headlines", "newsletters":"Newsletters", "newsletter-sports":"Sports", "to-print":"To print", "bradfordera-website":"Website"}
    Make face-blotting tissues at home
    Lifestyles
    Make face-blotting tissues at home
    July 12, 2025
    Dear Heloise: Facial-blotting tissues are expensive, but it's easy to make them at home. I purchase a package of good-quality white wrapping tissue an...
    Read More...
    {"to-print":"To print", "bradfordera-website":"Website"}
    Man’s addiction may be to blame for wife’s migraines
    Lifestyles
    Man’s addiction may be to blame for wife’s migraines
    July 12, 2025
    DEAR ABBY: I began experiencing migraines occasionally as a teenager, but in my early 20s, they became a regular occurrence. I tried unsuccessfully fo...
    Read More...
    {"to-print":"To print", "bradfordera-website":"Website"}
    ‘Round the Square: Notes from readers
    Round the Square
    ‘Round the Square: Notes from readers
    July 12, 2025
    NOTES FROM READERS: Every now and again we like to catch up on the notes we’ve received from our readers, whether they’re regarding ’Round the Square ...
    Read More...
    Q&A with DA: Tethering dogs outside during extreme temperatures
    Local News
    Q&A with DA: Tethering dogs outside during extreme temperatures
    By STEPHANIE VETTENBURG-SHAFFER  McKean County District Attorney  
    July 12, 2025
    (Editor’s note: The information in this special series is for educational purposes only and is not intended to address any particular case, nor should...
    Read More...
    {"newsletter-daily-headlines":"Daily Headlines", "newsletters":"Newsletters", "to-print":"To print", "bradfordera-website":"Website"}
    Even at 6-foot-6, Penguins defensive prospect Peyton Kettles is still growing
    Local Sports
    Even at 6-foot-6, Penguins defensive prospect Peyton Kettles is still growing
    Seth Rorabaugh The Tribune-Review, Greensburg 
    July 11, 2025
    (TNS) —Given that he shot up from 5-foot-5 in eighth grade to his current height of 6-6 as a freshly drafted defensive prospect for the Pittsburgh Pen...
    Read More...
    This Week's Ads
    Current e-Edition
    ePaper
    google_play
    app_store
    Already a subscriber? Click the image to view the latest e-edition.
    Don't have a subscription? Click here to see our subscription options.
    Mobile App

    Download Now

    The Bradford Era mobile app brings you the latest local breaking news, updates, and more. Read the Bradford Era on your mobile device just as it appears in print.

    ePaper
    google_play
    app_store

    Help Our Community

    Please help local businesses by taking an online survey to help us navigate through these unprecedented times. None of the responses will be shared or used for any other purpose except to better serve our community. The survey is at: www.pulsepoll.com $1,000 is being awarded. Everyone completing the survey will be able to enter a contest to Win as our way of saying, "Thank You" for your time. Thank You!

    Get in touch with The Bradford Era
    Submit Content
    • Submit News
    • Letter to the Editor
    • Place Wedding Announcement
      • Submit News
      • Letter to the Editor
      • Place Wedding Announcement
    Advertise
    • Place Birth Announcement
    • Place Anniversary Announcement
    • Place Obituary Call (814) 368-3173
      • Place Birth Announcement
      • Place Anniversary Announcement
      • Place Obituary Call (814) 368-3173
    Subscribe
    • Start a Subscription
    • e-Edition
    • Contact Us
      • Start a Subscription
      • e-Edition
      • Contact Us
    CMG | Community Media Group
    Illinois
    • Hancock Journal-Pilot
    • Iroquois Times-Republic
    • Journal-Republican
    • The News-Gazette
      • Hancock Journal-Pilot
      • Iroquois Times-Republic
      • Journal-Republican
      • The News-Gazette
    Indiana
    • Fountain Co. Neighbor
    • Herald Journal
    • KV Post News
    • Newton Co. Enterprise
    • Rensselaer Republican
    • Review-Republican
      • Fountain Co. Neighbor
      • Herald Journal
      • KV Post News
      • Newton Co. Enterprise
      • Rensselaer Republican
      • Review-Republican
    Iowa
    • Atlantic News Telegraph
    • Audubon Advocate-Journal
    • Barr’s Post Card News
    • Burlington Hawk Eye
    • Collector’s Journal
    • Fayette County Union
    • Ft. Madison Daily Democrat
    • Independence Bulletin-Journal
    • Keokuk Daily Gate City
    • Oelwein Daily Register
    • Vinton Newspapers
    • Waverly Newspapers
      • Atlantic News Telegraph
      • Audubon Advocate-Journal
      • Barr’s Post Card News
      • Burlington Hawk Eye
      • Collector’s Journal
      • Fayette County Union
      • Ft. Madison Daily Democrat
      • Independence Bulletin-Journal
      • Keokuk Daily Gate City
      • Oelwein Daily Register
      • Vinton Newspapers
      • Waverly Newspapers
    Michigan
    • Iosco County News-Herald
    • Ludington Daily News
    • Oceana’s Herald-Journal
    • Oscoda Press
    • White Lake Beacon
      • Iosco County News-Herald
      • Ludington Daily News
      • Oceana’s Herald-Journal
      • Oscoda Press
      • White Lake Beacon
    New York
    • Finger Lakes Times
    • Olean Times Herald
    • Salamanca Press
      • Finger Lakes Times
      • Olean Times Herald
      • Salamanca Press
    Pennsylvania
    • Bradford Era
    • Clearfield Progress
    • Courier Express
    • Free Press Courier
    • Jeffersonian Democrat
    • Leader Vindicator
    • Potter Leader-Enterprise
    • The Wellsboro Gazette
      • Bradford Era
      • Clearfield Progress
      • Courier Express
      • Free Press Courier
      • Jeffersonian Democrat
      • Leader Vindicator
      • Potter Leader-Enterprise
      • The Wellsboro Gazette
    © Copyright The Bradford Era 43 Main St, Bradford, PA  | Terms of Use  | Privacy Policy
    Powered by TECNAVIA