(The Center Square) – The only thing certain about Pennsylvania’s election results Tuesday night is the lingering uncertainty state officials all but promised to the onlooking nation.

And on that front, the Keystone State has delivered.

As of 11:45 p.m. Tuesday, roughly 16 percent of the state’s nearly 3 million absentee ballots have been counted and some 60 percent of precincts have reported results, with President Donald Trump holding an early 15 point lead over former Vice President Joe Biden. The race will tighten in the coming days as counties process absentee ballots – where registered Democrats held an early lead – ahead of the Nov. 6 deadline.

A Politico report indicated that Philadelphia pollsters stopped tabulating mail-in results after processing more than 75,000. Another seven counties – all won by Trump in 2016 by wide margins – won’t begin counting absentee ballots until Wednesday, preferring instead to focus manpower on the long lines at polling places.

Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar said those seven counties represent a small part of the total electorate and will likely finish processing ballots ahead of larger metropolitan areas.

As of 11:45 p.m. Tuesday, roughly 16 percent of the state’s nearly 3 million absentee ballots have been counted and some 60 percent of precincts have reported results, with President Donald Trump holding an early 15 point lead over former Vice President Joe Biden.

“I think Philadelphia is just trying to figure out the best way to do it [count ballots],” she told reporters during a news conference late Tuesday. “The counties are just working out the flow of how they upload it [results].” 

A record 9 million residents registered to vote ahead of the general election, according to state data, an increase of more than 250,000. Four years prior, about 6 million residents voted, delivering Donald Trump a narrow victory by fewer than 50,000 votes. 

“I’m proud of how Pennsylvanians conducted themselves in this historic election during a global pandemic,” Gov. Tom Wolf said Tuesday night. “And I’m proud that democracy is alive and well in the commonwealth. This election elicited an apparent record in voter registration in Pennsylvania and impressively high turnout today at the polls as well as in mail ballot voting.”

Christen Smith follows Pennsylvania’s General Assembly for The Center Square. She is an award-winning reporter with more than a decade of experience covering state and national policy issues for niche publications and local newsrooms alike.

This piece was originally published in The Center Square. Read the original article here.