Like in many general election years, a lot of eyes are on Pennsylvania right now. Oh, to live in a swing state.

Pennsylvania is among the last to still be counting a good chunk of its ballots from the Nov. 3 election, as it sent out more than 3 million by mail this year, a first for a state which previously had very limited early and absentee ballots. It’s largely due to complications set forth by the pandemic — a mailed ballot would allow a voter to avoid crowded polling places on Election Day.

When Pennsylvania approved these ballots called “no-excuse” absentee mail ballots last fall — meaning any voter can request one without citing a reason — the law didn’t allow officials to begin canvassing mail ballots until polls closed on election night. So while states like Colorado and Florida, who have had the infrastructure to quickly process mail votes in place for years, had speedy results on election night, Pennsylvania will likely be counting for days.

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