Committee advances Conklin bill to help counties provide quicker election returns
Would allow election workers to begin pre-canvassing ballots up to 7 days before election
Rep. Scott Conklin April 14, 2026 | 10:44 AM
HARRISBURG, April 14 – With mail-in voting remaining a popular option among Pennsylvanians, the House State Government Committee today advanced legislation (H.B. 37) introduced by Rep. Scott Conklin that would give election workers more time to process those ballots.
Under current state law, pre-canvassing of absentee and mail-in ballots cannot begin until 7 a.m. on Election Day. Pre-canvassing is defined as inspecting and opening envelopes containing the ballots; removing them from the envelopes; and counting, computing and tallying the votes reflected. It does not include recording or publishing the votes.
“The time allotted for pre-canvassing might have been feasible at one time, before the state adopted no-excuse mail-in voting, but with the more recent surge of voters choosing that option, the timeframe is no longer realistic,” Conklin said. “We’re hearing that repeatedly from county election officials and workers on both sides of the political aisle, who have asked us to change the law to give them more time to process these ballots.
“We need to answer that call. Delays in processing ballots don’t just create frustration – they can generate mistrust of the system. Giving counties the time they need to pre-canvass ballots would provide quicker election results and, in the process, help maintain trust in the system.”
The bill now heads to the full House for consideration.
Conklin introduced a previous version of the same bill in 2023. The bill passed the House in May 2024 but stalled in the state Senate.