WASHINGTON – Pennsylvania's vote, key to deciding the presidential race, has been slowed by the count of more than 3 million mail-in ballots, according to state election officials.
At 8 a.m. Wednesday, election officials said that 1.4 million mail-in ballots remain to be counted. Those ballots could tip the race. President Donald Trump led Democratic challenger Joe Biden by a 55.7% to 43.1% after nearly two-thirds of all ballots had been counted.
But mail-in votes are expected to heavily favor Biden because more Democrats voted absentee, while more Republicans voted in person. The mail-in votes also come from largely from counties won by 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton: Philadelphia, Allegheny, Chester, Bucks, Delaware and Montgomery.
Pennsylvania's 20 electoral votes a huge prize. Gov. Tom Wolf and Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar plan to provide an update on the race at 10:30 a.m.
Trump said it would be "almost impossible" for Biden to catch up in Pennsylvania, a state he won in 2016 by 44,000 votes, or less than 1 percentage point. Throughout the campaign, he said he would win the state again and by a much larger margin. At 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, the president claimed victory, even though he has not reached 270 electoral votes.
He also said he would go to the Supreme Court, which has a conservative majority after his three judicial appointments, to intervene in the election.
“We’ll be going to the U.S. Supreme Court," Trump said. "We want all voting to stop."
Voting stopped at 8 p.m. in Pennsylvania when the polls closed.
Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, a Republican who supports Biden, told USA TODAY that the delay was to be expected because many people chose to vote absentee due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"A lot of people don't want to go to the polls, a lot of people are gonna vote absentee," Ridge said. "Let the vote be counted. Be patient, and make sure that every vote is counted. That's the only way we can go forward."
Counting mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania is painstaking. Ballots have two security envelopes, signatures have to match and other information is verified. According to state law, none of that work can begin until 7 a.m. on election day.
Biden, for his part, called on his supporters late Tuesday night to "keep the faith."
“We’re going to have to be patient,” he said. “It ain’t over until every vote is counted.”
On Tuesday, Wolf, in a video message, reminded state residents to "remain calm and stay united."
“Across the state, dedicated county workers are ready to tirelessly make sure everyone’s vote counts,” Wolf said. “But counting that tremendous number of ballots will take more time than we are used to. We may not know the results today, but I encourage all of us to take a deep breath and be patient. What is most important is that we have accurate results, even if that takes a little longer.”
Trump had also previously complained about mail-in voting, claiming it was fraudulent, although his campaign's lawsuit produced no evidence of fraud.
There was also reason to believe Pennsylvania would be a close race. Winning in Pennsylvania is no small feat. It's a geographically and culturally diverse state with more than 12 million people.
"Elections here have always been close," said Republican strategist Charlie Gerow, CEO of Quantum Communications in Harrisburg. "The state being up for grabs is a great thing for democracy. Pennsylvania is a true swing state."
Candy Woodall is a reporter for the USA Today Network.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 1.4 million ballots still being counted in Pennsylvania