(File Photo)

 Harrisburg, PA – Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt released the following statement:

“Following Sen. Casey’s concession announcement yesterday afternoon, his campaign submitted a request to the Department of State to halt ongoing recount efforts.

“Last night, the Department informed county elections officials to cease their recount activities because Sen. Casey withdrew and continuing the recount would not be in the best interest of taxpayers.

“Thank you to all of Pennsylvania’s elections officials for their hard work throughout this election cycle, including counting millions of ballots and continuing to diligently conduct two audits to ensure every eligible vote cast in the Nov. 5 election is accurately counted.”

After the completion of those two audits to ensure the reported outcomes are correct, counties must certify election results by Nov. 25.