(NEXSTAR) – Members of the Pittsburgh Steelers are helping run up the score on the number of tallied votes in Pennsylvania.
According to published reports, members of the NFL franchise sent dinner in for Allegheny election workers Wednesday. The county tweeted thanks to the franchise Wednesday night, indicating that the menu consisted of rigatoni pasta, chicken and pie.
The league’s lone remaining undefeated team makes its home in the county, which has become one of the most closely watched locations in America as remaining tranches of ballots are added to the most pivotal remaining swing state. The electoral map offers no path to victory for President Trump without winning Pennsylvania.
State election officials had warned repeatedly in the lead up to Election Day that it would take days to count because of a massive surge in absentee ballots brought on by the pandemic and a recent change in state law that meant an excuse was no longer needed to vote absentee. Slowing the process down was the fact that local election officials could not begin processing and scanning ballots ahead of Election Day, as most states did.
On Wednesday, Philadelphia aired live video of workers in yellow and orange safety vests preparing ballots to be scanned. City officials counseled patience.
“Counting votes cast by mail, if you’re going to do it right and you’re going to do it accurately — because there’s no other choice — takes a little bit of time,” City Commissioner Al Schmidt said. “It’s more important that we do it right than meet artificial deadlines.”
A lingering question is what will happen to mail ballots that arrive after Election Day. State law allows for these ballots to be counted so long as they are received by Nov. 7. Trump’s campaign said it would intervene in a case at the Supreme Court that deals with whether Pennsylvania ballots received up to three days after the election can be counted.
At stake in Pennsylvania are 20 electoral votes. All absentee and mail ballots are due Nov. 6 if mailed by Election Day.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
