Philly's count isn't finished: the results so far show 14,000 fewer mail ballots than the city received

Philadelphia's election night count is mostly done, but not finished. The City Commissioners' unofficial results, last updated at 10:25 a.m. Wednesday, include 94,892 mail ballots, 385,506 ballots cast at polling places and no provisional ballots yet, with 1,694 of the city's 1,703 divisions reporting (turnout details).

The commissioners also reported receiving 108,966 mail-in and absentee ballots as of 8 p.m. Tuesday, when the return deadline passed (status update). That is about 14,000 more than appear in Wednesday morning's results. The commissioners' results page doesn't say how many of those are still waiting to be counted, how many were set aside for problems, or how many belonged to voters who surrendered their mail ballot and voted at the polls instead.

None of this can change the outcome of the city's two charter questions, which passed by more than 250,000 votes each (our results story). It matters for close races and for the final turnout figure.

How Election Day went

Reports of problems were down. Solomon Leach, a spokesperson for District Attorney Larry Krasner's office, said complaints were "remarkably less than prior midterms," WHYY reported. The office's election task force answered fewer than a dozen reports from polling sites, and none was an imminent threat, according to WHYY.

Before the election, officials had prepared for federal election monitors sent by the U.S. Justice Department. City Commissioners Chairman Omar Sabir said monitors would get no special access inside polling places, the Philadelphia Tribune reported. Our earlier story explains the rules. We found no reporting of a monitor-related incident in Philadelphia in the coverage we reviewed Wednesday morning.

What's still to be counted

Based on the commissioners' own notices:

• Provisional ballots. These are reviewed after Election Day. Voters who couldn't fix a flawed mail ballot could vote provisionally, and the state Supreme Court has ruled those ballots must be counted, WHYY reported.
• Mail ballots with ID problems. Voters whose ID couldn't be verified have until Monday, Nov. 9 to provide it. Without it, "the Board cannot count your ballot," the commissioners say (notice).
• Military and overseas ballots can arrive through Tuesday, Nov. 10 if sent by Nov. 2.
• Nine divisions had not yet reported as of the 10:25 a.m. update.

The calendar

• Friday, Nov. 6, 9 a.m.: The commissioners begin the official computation of votes at 11311 Roosevelt Blvd. Challenges to mail, absentee or provisional ballots will be heard there if needed (canvass notice).
• Nov. 9: ID deadline for flagged mail ballots.
• Nov. 10: Last day for military and overseas ballots.

What our records add

Mail voting's share of the city's vote is down from the last midterm. In 2022, mail ballots were about 25% of the final count; so far this year they are about 20%, according to the commissioners' results pages for 2022 and 2026. By our division-level count, the 8th Council District, represented by Cindy Bass, had the highest mail share, 21.8%, and the 7th, represented by Quetcy Lozada, the lowest, 14.2%. (Turnout by district.)

If you voted by mail

You can check whether your ballot was received and counted through the state's ballot status lookup at vote.pa.gov. If your ballot was on the deficiency list, the commissioners' notice lists how to fix it, including emailing a copy of an acceptable ID to phillyelection@phila.gov.

We'll report certified results when the canvass is complete.