Pennsylvania secretary of state predicts it’ll be a ‘matter of days’ for all ballots to be counted

Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar (D) predicted on Sunday that it’ll be a “matter of days” for all of the ballots to be counted in the key swing state. 

Boockvar told NBC News’s “Meet the Press” that 2.4 million Pennsylvanians have already voted by mail and that she estimates there will be 10 times as many mail-in ballots than in 2016, adding “it will take longer.”

“I expect that the overwhelming majority of ballots in Pennsylvania, that’s mail-in and absentee ballots, as well as in-person ballots, will be counted within a matter of days,” she said. “The counties are staffing up, have a ton of equipment, best practices in place, and are planning, for the most part, to count 24/7 until it’s done.”

The secretary of state also noted that military and overseas ballots have “until a full week after Election Day” to be counted.

“I just want to set that straight, that this is a process, and we want to make sure that every single vote of every valid voter is securely and accurately counted,” she said.

Pennsylvania law allows for ballots to be counted as long as they are postmarked on Tuesday but received by 5 p.m. on Friday. Republicans are challenging this extension in the Supreme Court, which last Wednesday rejected a GOP request to fast-track the case.

Boockvar on Sunday recommended that voters “ignore the lawsuits” and “ignore the hype” and “just get your ballots in today.” 

She added that “for effective election administration and making sure we have clarity in the counties,” ballots postmarked by Election Day and received by Friday “will be segregated.”

“But they will be counted,” she said. 

Pennsylvania, which President Trump narrowly won in 2016, is expected to be a key battleground state in Tuesday’s election.