Released: November 8, 2023
Delaware County Council commends the thousands of residents and many organizations that contributed to a successful Election Day on November 7, especially and including poll workers and Department of Elections staff who made sure their neighbors could cast their ballots.
The unofficial 2023 turnout of more than 153,000 voters will exceed the turnout at the 2021 Municipal Election. This election also marked the first phase of a rollout of electronic poll books or “e-pollbooks.” Poll workers in 39 percent of the county (168 of the 428 precincts) trained to implement this technology in the County’s largest precincts. The e-pollbooks provide voters with faster and more accurate service, including redirection for those who arrive at the wrong polling sites.
“Rolling out this technology will yield benefits, primarily for our voters, who will see faster check-ins and consistent guidance,” said Elections Director James P. Allen. “This was only possible through the cooperation and thoughtful planning by teams starting with our poll-worker coordination and training team and IT liaison, and extending to our Voter Registration, Bureau of Elections and Voting Machine Warehouse. Lastly, poll workers made this happen with flexibility and helping us with ideas to streamline expansion of this program to all of the other precincts in the next two elections.”
County thanks also goes to the 2,175 poll workers who staffed and managed the 428 Delaware County precincts on Election Day as well as Election Department staff and seasonal and temp workers. Special thanks also go to the County’s Park Police, the County’s IT Department, the County’s Emergency Services, the County’s Public Works Department, the County’s Facilities team, and local law enforcement, including the County Sheriff’s Department, and the watchers and observers who provided valuable oversight of the County’s electoral processes.
Delaware County Elections completed the unofficial processing of all but three precincts from Election Day voting about midnight on Wednesday, November 8, and the mail/absentee ballots that were received just before polls closed, at approximately 3:00 a.m. By law, military/overseas ballots can arrive and be eligible to count through the Tuesday after election day. Additionally, provisional ballots will be reviewed for possible addition to the counts next week. All eligible remaining vote-by-mail and provisional ballots will be processed, regardless of how close any contests are, with the goal of certifying the election within the next two weeks.
In accordance with Pennsylvania State Law, Delaware County Elections’ retabulation team will be sworn in on Veterans Day to begin the review of precinct records to identify any apparent or obvious discrepancies. This process includes review of the results tapes, a 2% recount of precincts, and a comparison of ballots cast versus ballots supplied and ballots returned unused.
The unofficial totals exclude small numbers of mail-in ballots that were flawed, based on the return envelopes being: undated or improperly dated; unsigned; unsealed; or the ballot not placed in the “secrecy envelope” before being submitted in the larger “Ballot Return Envelope.”
“We are particularly grateful to the poll workers who demonstrated the Delco can-do spirit to combine three precincts at Radnor Elementary School late in the day after an emergency evacuation at a site that had hosted two of those precincts for much of the day,” Allen said. “The workers who staffed Radnor 2-1, 2-2 and 2-3 and the County’s Voting Machine Warehouse made sure that voters were able to participate quickly after the relocation.”
Voters are reminded that all vote totals posted on the Delaware County Election Results page, located at delcopa.gov/results, remain unofficial until the certification process is complete, and the vote totals are submitted to the PA Department of State. The certification deadline for the Nov. 7, 2023 Municipal Election is Mon., Nov. 27. Voters with election-related questions may call the Delaware County Election Hotline at (610) 891-VOTE or visit the Delaware County election website — Delco Votes! — at delcopa.gov/vote.