ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The partisan divide over mail-in ballots will continue this Election Day, as Democrats continue to overwhelmingly favor the voting system.
Lehigh and Northampton counties' election officials reported Wednesday they shipped out more than 82,677 mail-in ballots for next week's general election.
- While mail-in ballots have attracted the ire of conservative critics, they remain legal for the 2022 election
- Some 82,677 voters in Lehigh and Northampton counties requested a mail-in ballot. That's 17.5% of all registered voters in the counties
- Two-thirds of the requests in the region come from registered Democrats
Registered Democrats account for 55,426 of them, good for 67% of local residents voting by mail.
In contrast, just 17,195 registered Republicans and 10,063 voters not affiliated with the two major parties plan to vote by mail.
That's about on par with how previous elections have worked out. In 2020, for example, Democrats accounted for about 65% of mail-in ballots cast statewide, compared with Republicans, who cast 24% of those ballots.
G. Terry Maddona, a senior fellow in residence for political affairs at Millersville University, said the figures indicate it should be a competitive election. Mail-in ballots have become an important tool for Democrats to turn out their supporters.
"If that gets reduced, that’s obviously going to help Republicans," Madonna said. "That’s one of the major factors for Democrats in carrying the election."
State officials have advised that the disparity in how citizens vote could influence how counties report their voting totals.
Since Pennsylvania started widely using mail-in ballots in 2020, most counties have reported their polling place results first, then added in their mail-in ballot totals. That's created the appearance in many races of Republican candidates jumping out to large leads that shrink and sometimes disappear as mail-in ballots are tabulated.
Counties are not allowed to begin counting mail-in ballots until 7 a.m. Election Day. The system can cause lengthy delays in determining a winner in close contests, such as the 2020 presidential race.
Madonna said Pennsylvanians can likely expect more of the same in tight races this cycle, too.
"I would be stunned if we know anything about the outcome of the senate race for days,"G. Terry Maddona, senior fellow in residence for political affairs at Millersville University.
That logic also likely will apply to the campaign between U.S. Rep. Susan Wild and challenger Lisa Scheller in Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District. Recent polls have determined the race, one of the most hotly contested in the nation, is too close to call.
Total Mail-In Ballot Sent
Lehigh County
Democrats - 27,803
Republicans - 8,706
Other - 4,792
Total - 41,301
Northampton County
Democrats - 27,616
Republicans - 8,489
Other - 5,271
Total - 41,376
