Berks GOP Challenges Provisional Ballots; Board to Decide

The Berks County Election Board meets Thursday, Nov. 12, at 11 a.m. to hold a hearing on challenges to provisional ballots from the Nov. 3 election, challenges the agenda says were "filed by authorized representatives of the Berks County Republican Committee." The board's decision determines whether the challenged ballots are added to the county's count. At the same meeting the board is scheduled to accept the unofficial canvass and start the five-day public inspection period that comes before certification.

A provisional ballot is the paper ballot a voter casts when there is a question about their eligibility at the polls, such as a name missing from the poll book or a first-time voter without ID. It is sealed in an envelope and set aside, and the county decides after Election Day whether it counts. The county's unofficial summary report, generated at 11:41 p.m. on election night, shows 143,855 ballots cast by 275,939 registered voters, a 52.13 percent turnout, and zero in the provisional column of every race, so no provisional ballots had been added when it was produced (p. 1). The county's results page still says, "Results displayed are incomplete and unofficial."

What the agenda says, and what it does not

The two-page agenda, posted Tuesday afternoon, lists the hearing as its first action item: "A hearing on the provisional ballot challenges filed by authorized representatives of the Berks County Republican Committee." That is the whole description. It does not say how many provisional ballots were cast in Berks County, how many were challenged, who signed the challenges, or on what grounds. No challenge documents are attached, and the county has posted no separate notice, so the record does not show which races, if any, could be affected.

The county's Election Services office did post a short notice on Tuesday, Nov. 10, titled "Provisional Ballot Determinations". It says, "Provisional voters can check the status of their provisional ballot by entering the ballot number at the link below or by calling 1-877-868-3772," and links to the state's provisional ballot search. The number is on the receipt the poll workers gave the voter, and the state's provisional ballot page says the search shows whether the ballot "counted, partially counted or did not count."

How the process works under state law

Under Section 1210(a.4)(4) of the Pennsylvania Election Code, "Within seven calendar days of the election, the county board of elections shall examine each provisional ballot envelope that is received to determine if the individual voting that ballot was entitled to vote at the election district in the election." The county's canvass notice said its Computing Board would start that work at 9 a.m. Friday, Nov. 6, in the Office of Election Services, continue Saturday, Nov. 7, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., and "review and make determinations on all voted provisional ballots."

The same section lets "One authorized representative of each candidate in an election and one representative from each political party" stay in the room, keep a list of provisional voters, and "challenge any determination of the county board of elections with respect to the counting or partial counting of the ballot." The county's notice said observers "must be authorized representatives for a party, candidate or organization" and must file a request form.

When a ballot is challenged, the law says the envelope "shall be marked 'challenged' together with the reason for the challenge," placed unopened in "a secure, safe and sealed container," and held for a formal hearing "not later than seven days after the date of the challenge." Notice must go "where possible to all provisional electors thus challenged." At the hearing the board "shall not be bound by the Pennsylvania Rules of Evidence," and the testimony is recorded by a stenographer. Anyone "aggrieved by the decision" can appeal to the Berks County Court of Common Pleas, but only "within two days after the decision was made." While any appeal is pending, the board must hold off on counting the challenged ballots. Once the county's computation is complete, "the votes cast upon the challenged official provisional ballots shall be added to the other votes cast within the county."

Section 1210(a.4)(5) lists the reasons a provisional ballot is not counted: the voter did not sign the envelope or the affidavit; the two signatures are "either not genuine or are not executed by the same individual"; the envelope "does not contain a secrecy envelope"; a voter who cast the ballot for lack of ID did not get the required affirmation, and where required proof of identification, to the county "within six calendar days following the election"; or the voter's mail-in or absentee ballot arrived on time. A voter who was never registered is marked "Rejected as Ineligible"; a registered voter who used the wrong precinct gets a partial count.

The county does not say which of these grounds, if any, the Republican Committee's challenges raise. The board's last such hearing was Nov. 14, 2024, after the Senate race between Dave McCormick and Bob Casey. The county's minutes show the two campaigns pulling in opposite directions. The McCormick campaign challenged the county's decision to count provisional ballots "missing the signature of the minority inspector and/or judge of elections"; the county's lawyers said that omission is not on the law's list of disqualifiers, and the board denied the challenge (pp. 1-2). The Casey campaign challenged the county's rejection of ballots missing the voter's signatures or a secrecy envelope, and the board denied both challenges because the law requires them (p. 2). Casey's campaign also challenged the rejection of ballots from roughly 70 voters it believed were registered; the board sustained that challenge in part, agreeing to count any ballot from a voter further research showed was registered, and denied the rest (p. 3). The minutes note the hearing "had to be held within 7 days of when the challenges were filed and be recorded by an official stenographer" (p. 1). Election Director Anne Norton told the board that day that "more than 3,152 provisional ballots" had been cast and "about 1,600 of the provisional ballots were rejected" (p. 5). Nothing in this year's agenda ties the challenges to any race or reason.

The unofficial returns and the five-day window

The agenda's second item authorizes the board to sign the "Unofficial Returns Reporting Form for the 2026 General Election" for the Pennsylvania Department of State. Section 1404(f) of the Election Code says, "The county board shall submit the unofficial returns to the Secretary of the Commonwealth by five o'clock P. M. on the Tuesday following the election," which this year was Nov. 10. The agenda does not say whether the county sent the form before Thursday's vote. A vote after the Tuesday deadline is this board's routine: after the May primary, Chairman Rivera said the unofficial governor's race results "were submitted to the Department of State Tuesday, May 26, 2026, at 5 p.m.," and the board authorized the form at its May 28 meeting, nine days after that election, per its minutes (p. 1); on Nov. 14, 2024, two days after that year's Tuesday deadline, it authorized the same form (2024 minutes, p. 5). The state uses the unofficial returns to decide whether any statewide race was within one-half of 1 percent, which triggers an automatic recount; under Section 1404(g)(2) the Secretary of the Commonwealth must order any such recount by 5 p.m. on "the second Thursday following the day of" the election, which is also Nov. 12.

The third item is to "review and accept the unofficial canvass for the 2026 General Election and announce the 5-day review period will begin at 8 a.m. on Friday, November 13, 2026, and end at 5 p.m. on Thursday, November 19, 2026." The canvass is the county's full tally, precinct by precinct. Under Section 1404(f), returns "shall be considered unofficial for five (5) days," during which a petition for a recount or recanvass can be filed. If none is, the board certifies the returns and issues certificates of election to the winners of county and local offices. The Election Code's outside deadline for certifying to the state, in Section 302(k), is "the third Monday following the primary or election," which a 2026 certification guide from Protect Democracy, the Brennan Center and the Campaign Legal Center puts at Nov. 23. The agenda lists no certification date. After the May primary, the board certified at a special meeting June 5, per our primary turnout report.

Also on the agenda

The board will vote on minutes of its Oct. 22 meeting, which the county has not yet posted on its open-data hub, where the newest Election Board minutes are from Oct. 15. It will hear the Election Director's report and take general comments from the board "regarding current election-related issues." The agenda lists Chair Michael S. Rivera, Vice Chair Christian Y. Leinbach and Dante Santoni Jr. as the board, with Chief Clerk Anne Norton, County Solicitor Christine M. Sadler and First Assistant County Solicitor Cody L. Kauffman. It is the board's first posted agenda since Oct. 22; the county marked its Nov. 5 slot "(Removed, not needed)," as noted in our Nov. 5 commissioners preview. Our last Election Board preview covered the October polling-place moves.

How to attend and comment

The meeting follows the commissioners' 10 a.m. board meeting on the county calendar. The meeting notice lists it as a hybrid meeting in the "13th Floor Commissioners' Boardroom, Services Center, 633 Court Street, Reading, PA 19601," with a Microsoft Teams link on the notice. Per page 1 of the agenda, anyone who wants to comment on an agenda item before the vote must tell the chair; in-person comments come first, then the Teams Q&A; one comment per person; every comment must include a first name, last name and municipality or it "will not be considered"; and the comment period is capped at 30 minutes unless the county extends it. A general public comment period comes at the end.

Provisional voters can check whether their ballot counted at the state's provisional ballot search or by calling 1-877-VOTESPA (1-877-868-3772). The Office of Election Services is on the first floor of the Services Center, 633 Court St., Reading, PA 19601; 610-478-6490; weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Our guide to your rights at the polls explains when a provisional ballot is offered, and our 2026 election guide collects every date in this cycle.