HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania's top elections official fully certified results from the November vote late last week after recount petitions in some counties had delayed the process, the Department of State said Tuesday.

An agency spokesperson said acting Secretary of State Leigh Chapman completed certification of all races in the 2022 midterm election on Thursday.

The final tally was issued less than two weeks before members of Congress and state lawmakers are due to be sworn in on Jan. 3. The inauguration of the state's next governor, Josh Shapiro, will be Jan. 17.

“We have had no problems this past year in Butler County,” said Butler County Commissioner Kim Geyer. “I’ve talked to other counties throughout the commonwealth that had the same experience.”

Recount petitions in at least 27 of the state’s 67 counties, covering 172 voting precincts, caused delays as some county elections boards waited until litigation was resolved before sending in their own certifications to the state.

“I think there still remains a lot of procedural issues with the mail-in voting that we are still trying to work on,” county Commissioner Leslie Osche said. “They have to be able to go back and look at the poll books and see who actually voted in person to make sure they also didn’t have a mail-in ballot that was turned in during the final couple of days. Once the poll books are printed, anything that comes in after that would not register in those poll books.”

The Department of State said certificates of election and official results were shipped to Congress and arrived on Thursday.

Conservatives voicing concerns about the accuracy and reliability of Pennsylvania's voting machines and procedures filed most of the petitions. The majority were dismissed, but county judges did authorize at least 19 precinct recounts in six counties that moved vote totals barely or not at all.

“I think Republicans are going to have to start thinking differently about mail-in voting,” Geyer said. “Our party came out and rejected it. Before we can create legislative reform where we have voter identification, we have to have a majority in the house and the senate at both the state and federal level.”

Butler Eagle staff writer Steve Cukovich contributed to this report.