Jordan Wilkie | WITF

Monday was the deadline for Pennsylvania counties to certify election results as official and final.

By state law, it takes 20 days to certify vote totals, allowing elected officials to take office early next year.

The U.S. Senate race is going to an automatic recount, requiring already exhausted election officials to reprocess seven million ballots in under two weeks.

The challenges targeted mainly overseas voters, already the subject of an unsuccessful lawsuit filed by six of the state’s Republican congressmen.

Candidates mainly use the funds to buy advertisements on television, as part of a strategy to persuade as many people as possible to turn out and vote for them. But while candidates are using money from donors to tell their stories to would-be voters, the source of those dollars can tell a story about the candidates, too.

On Wednesday, Bishop Christopher deForest stood with religious leaders in the Capitol rotunda and called for peace during the election cycle.More than 330 religious leaders representing more than three million Pennsylvanians signed on to the statement.

Former president Donald Trump remains devoted to targeting his messaging to the Republican base in his third campaign by doubling down on language that experts say is both highly partisan and dangerous for U.S. democracy.

As many residents and political leaders follow best practice responding to a hate group, U.S Rep. Scott Perry does not.

The case could standardize county rules when voters make errors in returning mail ballots.

The upgrades to the state's election software systems will come in stages over a, at minimum, four year process.