Biden Leading Trump In Delco, 1000's Of Mail-In Ballots Uncounted

DELAWARE COUNTY, PA — Democratic former Vice President Joe Biden is firmly ahead of Republican President Donald Trump in Delaware County as of Thursday morning, as poll workers continued to count mail-in ballots cast in the race.

At about 8:40 p.m. Thursday, Biden's vote total in Delaware County was 184,648, compared to 111,046 for Trump. Biden's lead is expected to widen further in the county Thursday as mail-in ballots — which have heavily favored Democrats in Delaware County and across the nation — continue to be counted.

According to the state, 13,211 mail-in ballots have yet to be counted in Delaware County, as of 8:45 p.m.

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With concerns about the ongoing coronavirus pandemic on their minds, Democratic candidates and officials, from Biden on down, had urged their supporters throughout the campaign to vote remotely by mail when possible. Trump and some other Republicans, meanwhile, downplayed the threat and tried to cast doubt on the reliability of mail voting.

The votes that had been counted in Delaware County by Thursday night included votes cast at the county's 420 precincts, plus nearly 105,166 mail-in and absentee ballots. The overall number was expected to increase slightly in coming days, as ballots that were postmarked by Election Day may be counted if they arrive by Friday.

Vote-by-mail ballots postmarked before 8 p.m. on Election Day will continue to be counted until the 5 p.m. Friday deadline.

The tally in Delaware County, and the rest of the state, was being watched closely Thursday morning as Pennsylvania's 20 electoral votes remained in play in an election that's still technically undecided.

Statewide, Trump had 3,270,104 votes to Biden's 3,216,804 as of 8:45 p.m., according to the state.

But a large amount of mail-in ballots, many from Democratic-leaning urban centers such as Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, remained to be counted. Keystone State Democrats have said they believe they have more than enough votes to win.

Meanwhile, the Trump campaign on Wednesday sued to stop the counting of votes in Pennsylvania.

The campaign says it's suing to halt the counting of votes over concerns about "transparency," attempting to intervene in existing Supreme Court litigation over Pennsylvania's three-day extension for mail-in ballots and filing suit to challenge an extension of the deadline for mail-in and absentee voters to provide proof identification.

On Wednesday, incumbent Democrat U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon was declared the winner in his re-election bid against Republican Dasha Pruett.

For full coverage of the election in Pennsylvania, go here.