ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Voters should expect to wait for election results come November, experts said during a forum at Muhlenberg College’s Allentown campus Tuesday.
While it is sure to be a long night after polls close on Nov. 5, they said, it probably will not be as long a wait as Pennsylvanians endured in 2020.
Every other fall, Muhlenberg‘s political science department holds a string of conversations about the upcoming general election.
The department launched this year’s election series Tuesday with a forum aimed chiefly at helping students preparing to vote understand how elections work in the Lehigh Valley.
Most of the hourlong session was reserved for questions from the audience.
To answer those questions, organizers tapped former federal circuit court Judge Tom Vanaskie, Lehigh County Executive Phil Armstrong, Spotlight PA reporter Stephen Caruso and state Department of State Policy Director Michael McDonald.
Moderated by Chris Borick, a Muhlenberg political science professor and director of the college’s Institute of Public Opinion, the discussion was co-sponsored by Keep Our Republic, a nonprofit seeking to rebuild trust in elections.
‘Let people know how the system works’
Amid escalating false attacks on the integrity of elections, the panel discussion took on an additional layer of urgency.
Not only did it aim to equip students to vote, it sought to buttress trust in elections and, by extension, strengthen American democracy.
“We need to let people know how the system works," Armstrong said.
“It’s OK to have legitimate questions. Ask those questions about the process, but really try your best to be open to evidence.”Chris Borick, a Muhlenberg political science professor and director of the college’s Institute of Public Opinion
"And then when people start on social media, you know the facts and we keep the misinformation from happening.”
To people with questions about how elections are run, Borick offered advice similar to what he said he would tell his students.
“It’s OK to have legitimate questions,” he said. “Ask those questions about the process, but really try your best to be open to evidence.”
‘It takes as long as it takes’
The panelists told their audience to have realistic expectations about how quickly they will learn the results of November's election. It takes time for county election workers to process thousands of mail ballots, they said.
Over the last four years, many county election offices have upgraded their equipment and operations to process mail ballots more quickly, making the multi-day waits of 2020 less likely this time around.
“It’s not a delay. It takes as long as it takes. It’s important to get it right, and counties are moving as quickly and accurately as they can.”State Department of State Policy Director Michael McDonald
Still, panelists warned that, with elections workers unable to start processing mail ballots until polls open on Election Day, it will still take many hours of nonstop counting to deliver a complete result.
“It’s not a delay. It takes as long as it takes,” said McDonald. “It’s important to get it right, and counties are moving as quickly and accurately as they can.”
Armstrong predicted Lehigh County’s results would be posted by the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 6. Voters should be prepared for the results to change as the night wears on and ballots are gradually counted, he said.
Muhlenberg’s series of election conversations resumes on September 30 with guest Geraldo Cadava speaking about the dynamics of the Latino vote. It continues through October with three sessions on disinformation and public health, political violence, and the politics of firearms.
