Philadelphia City Commissioner Seth Bluestein has assured that the city will count ballots more swiftly during the 2024 US election cycle, compared to the lengthy process in 2020.
In an interview with CNN, Bluestein emphasised that several improvements have been implemented to expedite the process.
“We started pre-canvassing our mail ballots as soon as the polls opened at 7 a.m. today, and we are going to count the ballots much faster than we did in 2020,” Bluestein stated.
One of the key reasons for this quicker process, according to Bluestein, was the shift back to in-person voting, which has reduced the number of mail-in ballots that needed to be processed this year compared to the pandemic-fraught election of 2020.
To further streamline the ballot counting process, Philadelphia also invested in new equipment to speed up envelope opening and increased the number of staff working on the count. “We have more people working than we had in the past,” Bluestein added.
However, he noted that the timing of election results will still depend on the closeness of the race. “Ultimately, whether or not a race can be called comes down to the margin of the election. It’s hard to predict when people will be able to wake up and know the result outside of Pennsylvania,” he explained.
Bluestein expressed optimism that, if everything ran smoothly, “the bulk of the mail ballots” would be counted by midday Wednesday following Election Day. He was confident the delays seen in 2020, when it took four days to finish counting, would not be repeated.
In terms of election integrity, Bluestein expressed full confidence in the security and fairness of the voting process. “The election in Philadelphia and across the commonwealth is going to be free and fair and safe and secure. I am completely confident in our ability to run the election fairly,” he reassured.
