Recount requests delay Pennsylvania election certification

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Five weeks after Election Day, winning candidates in Pennsylvania from governor to Congress are waiting for their victories to become official.

An effort that appears to be at least partially coordinated among conservatives has inundated counties with ballot recount requests even though no races are close enough to require a recount and there has been no evidence of any potential problems.

The attempt to delay certification could foreshadow a potential strategy for the 2024 presidential election, if the results don't go the way disaffected voters want in one of the nation's most closely contested states.

Recounts have been sought in 172 voting precincts across 40% of Pennsylvania's 67 counties. That led to nine counties missing their Nov. 29 certification deadline, though all but one has since certified.

The Pennsylvania Department of State, in a response to The Associated Press on Wednesday, gave no date for certifying the results statewide but said it planned to comply with a request from the clerk of the U.S. House to send certification documents to Congress by mid-December. Wednesday was Dec. 14.

Chris Deluzio, a Pittsburgh Democrat elected in November to the U.S. House, said the delay has had only a minor effect on him so far. Without his win being official, however, the congressman-elect doesn't get to send out mail at no charge, as other members of Congress do, for example.

“I think if people are able to come to the courts and delay certification results without any real evidence, that’s a problem, and I see some abuse of that process here,” Deluzio said.

Judges authorized at least 19 precinct recounts in six counties. Those requesting the recounts said they wanted to check the accuracy of the state's election equipment and processes,...