The Pennsylvania Department of State (DOS) announced Monday that it has completed two audits of 2024 general election ballots that confirm the accuracy of the unofficial results.
“These audits provide statistical evidence that reported general election results are accurate,” Commonwealth Secretary Al Schmidt said in a statement. “…Thank you to election workers in all 67 counties for once again conducting free, fair and secure elections in Pennsylvania.”
Each county in Pennsylvania had to recount 2% or 2,000 of its votes. According to DOS, each district reported that the inspections confirmed the accuracy of their results.
Another audit, called a risk mitigation audit, was conducted statewide. Fifty-five randomly selected batches of ballots from 32 precincts were counted by hand. Ultimately, that meant 37,000 votes.
According to Schmidt, the audit found a total of six discrepancies, each of which resulted in a change of no more than two votes. The State Department said such errors are usually the result of human error during the counting or unclear marks on the ballots.
Unofficial results show that Republican President-elect Donald Trump received 50.37% of the vote, compared to Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris who received 48.66%.
All statewide races for rank-and-file offices were also won by Republicans. Although the partisan makeup of the Legislature, with Democrats narrowly controlling the State House and Republicans overwhelmingly controlling the State Senate, remained the same.
Under federal Vote Counting Reform Act of 2022Pennsylvania electors for president must be certified until December 11. Districts had to certify their results and submit them to Schmidt’s office for review by Nov. 25.
Gov. Josh Shapiro then certifies the election results by December 11 by signing a “certificate of certification.” The Electoral College then meets in Harrisburg on December 17 to vote for president and vice president
