More than a third of Pennsylvania counties hired new election directors since 2024

Pennsylvania has experienced a sharp and sustained rise in election official turnover since 2020, with rates exceeding most other states, according to new data. Lycoming County election director Forrest Lehman, who began documenting the exodus in January 2020, found that dozens of directors and deputies left, taking hundreds of years of combined experience. By July 2024 turnover was so routine he stopped tracking it, and a Bipartisan Policy Center study found more than half of directors had left during that cycle.¹

More than a third of Pennsylvania counties have hired new election directors since 2024, according to the Department of State.¹

What this means for Pennsylvania voters

County boards of elections canvass returns, send unofficial results to the Secretary of the Commonwealth by the Tuesday after the election, and then file certified results.² The Secretary of the Commonwealth canvasses and certifies the state and federal results once the certified county results arrive, and issues certificates for state offices while the Governor issues them for federal offices.²