LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — On Wednesday, election officials in Lancaster County began the process of remarking mail-in ballots that were unable to be scanned on Election Day.
There were roughly 60 volunteers at the Lancaster County Government Office to count the ballots. Election Director Christa Miller says the volunteers were split into groups of three to begin the process.
"You’ve got a reader, writer, and observer," Miller said. "The reader is reading out the old ballot, the writer is copying everything onto the new ballot, and the observer is just there to make sure everything’s getting marked correctly.”
As of this afternoon, over 4,700 ballots were scanned and uploaded to the Lancaster County website, with several thousand more waiting to be added. Miller says all votes are likely to be counted by Friday.
“But the most important thing here is accuracy," she said. "And if that makes us take an extra day, it takes an extra day."
Amid the background of the counting process, U.S. Senate candidates Mehmet Oz and Dave McCormick are fighting for the Republican nomination in a race that’s still too close to call.
“The fact that we have a race that’s so close, it makes it more important to get this done as quickly as possible," Lancaster County Commissioner Ray D'Agostino said.
Even with the tight Senate race looming, D’Agostino also says the main focus of election officials is to accurately count the mail-in ballots.
“One of the mantras I have when it comes to elections in Lancaster County is three things: integrity, veracity, and transparency," D'Agostino said. "Everything we do must meet those three goals. And I have to say, here in Lancaster County, we make sure that that happens.”
Christa Miller says the morale remained high Wednesday as volunteers continued remarking the ballots.
“We are just trying to keep it light in the room and not try to focus on it too much, so that no one feels that pressure," Miller said.