Below you will see examples of analysis done on each election from the 2020 General through the 2022 Midterm. This information was obtained through Full Voter Exports from the PA Department of State, and precinct election results. This analysis shows each precinct in Chester County, and identifies which precincts had more votes than voters, and by how much.
Some elections below show two different analysis dates. This is for the purpose of showing how many more votes than voters there were on certification day when the election was certified, and then also weeks after the election. This clearly shows that the numbers were still in the process of being reconciled AFTER the certification date. This leads to the problem of not being able to fully trust the election results that are officially certified as the final numbers, if the reconciliation wasn’t complete.
A link to see the breakdowns from each election of how many more votes than voters there were per precinct is on the right side of the chart, for example: “Table 2020G.” Please note that in each analysis, the voter deficit is equal to how many more votes than voters there are. For example, -6 in the table means there were 6 more votes than voters.
Election | Certification Date | FVE Evaluation Date | More Votes than Voters | Number of Precincts not Reconciled | Detailed Evaluation Table |
General Election 11/3/2020 | 11/23/2020 | 12/7/2020 | 2,956 | 185 of 230 | |
Primary Election 5/18/2021 | 6/7/2021 | 6/7/2021 | 16,796* | 128 of 230 | |
Primary Election 5/18/2021 | 6/7/2021 | 7/19/2021 | 301 | 102 of 230 | |
General Election 11/2/2021 | 11/22/2021 | 11/29/2021 | 710** | 125 of 230 | |
General Election 11/2/2021 | 11/22/2021 | 12/6/2021 | 322 | 124 of 230 | |
Primary Election 5/17/2022 | 6/6/2022 | 6/6/2022 | 174 | 98 of 230 | |
General Election 11/8/2022 | 11/28/2022 | 11/28/2022 | 1,096*** | 178 of 230 | |
General Election 11/8/2022 | 11/28/2022 | 12/19/2022 | 605 | 148 of 230 |
Notes:
* 60 Precincts with more than 70 unreconciled votes
** Elk Precinct: 388 more Votes than Voters
*** 32 Precincts with 10 or more unreconciled votes
When precincts have many more votes than voters, this most likely means that a poll book has not been binked (scanned) into the system yet. Notice the election in which it appears multiple poll books were not binked in when the vote was certified.
It is the duty of the Board of Elections (BOE) to be knowledgeable of the law and to follow the laws of the Commonwealth. Statute 25 P.S. §3154 is clear that the board must review the number of persons who voted in each District and compare that to the total ballots cast in that District – nothing in Act 77 waives the requirement for reconciliation of the entire District.
If the number of ballots cast exceed the number of voters who participated in that District, “such excess shall be deemed a discrepancy and palpable error, and shall be investigated by the return board, and no votes shall be recorded from such district until such investigation shall be had…”
Each election from 2020 through 2022 was certified with more votes than voters. Why did we not hear of any investigations being done to figure out why this was happening? Who did the extra ballots belong to that were being counted? Were they unlawful ballots or were they people who were not getting credit for voting in the SURE system? Will this problem continue into future elections? Only now is the new temporarily acting 2023 BOE reviewing the issue with Voter Services.
Throughout these elections, hundreds to thousands more ballots were counted than there were people voting. Those numbers are large enough to change race outcomes. Why are political parties not investigating this issue in Chester County?
Excuses blaming the issue on the outdated SURE system don’t work when many counties across the state are able to use SURE to reconcile their elections and have clean elections without the issue of more votes than voters. This is found by using the same analysis as above. It appears to be specifically a Chester County issue.
A simple remedy is to make a list from each precinct of every voter and their unique voter ID, from every vote method including mail-in/absentee and provisional ballots and compare that to the number of ballots cast. This should help prevent double voting and identify issues needing addressed.
