Philadelphia Officials Give First-Hand Look At How They Plan To Count Mail-In Ballots On Election Day
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- We're in the home stretch of Campaign 2020 and on Monday, Philadelphia officials talked about how they plan to count hundreds of thousands of mail-in ballots come Election Day. It's a process that the city has never attempted before.
The deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot is Tuesday in Pennsylvania and Eyewitness News had a chance to see how it will all work.
There are a lot of new noises inside the Convention Center.
Scanners, sorters, printers -- all machinery now being utilized to count over 250,000 mail-in ballots from Philadelphia ahead of next week's presidential election.
"Philadelphia has really embraced the mail-in voting at levels that other jurisdictions that have voted by mail, primarily, it's taken them years to achieve a level that we have here in Philadelphia," said Philadelphia City Commissioner Lisa Deeley.
It comes in the midst of repeated unsubstantiated claims by the Trump campaign of mail-in issues.
Deeley says they will have plenty of space for poll watchers and media to see the process in action.
They say any tampering won't be allowed and according to Mayor Jim Kenney, his office has been coordinating with Philadelphia police to make sure whoever wins Nov. 3, citizens remain safe.
"We're concerned about securing the city all the time. We recognize there will be an emotional outburst and we're prepared for it," Kenney said.
Among the machinery are 12 scanners capable of coding 32,000 ballots per hour but as far as an official count, Deeley doesn't know how quickly that will come on Nov. 3.
"Based on the amount we receive, I will be able to announce those expectations in the days ahead," she said.
The City Commissioner's Office says they're impressed with how quickly Philly has embraced this option
But she reminds you that you can still vote in person Tuesday, Nov. 3.
MORE FROM CBS PHILLY:
Stimulus Package Update: What Happens To The Economy Without A Second Stimulus?
EXCLUSIVE: Joe Biden discusses the rising homicide rate in Philadelphia
Pennsylvania GOP Asks Supreme Court Again To Block State's Ballot Extension
