Pennsylvania just wrapped up a presidential primary that, by all accounts, was a smooth ride. The man at the helm of the state's election, Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt, dished out high praises to the teams on the ground for pulling off an efficient and successful election day.

According to a state release, Schmidt tipped his hat to the "dedicated and hard-working county election staff and poll workers across the Commonwealth," for ensuring a secure voting process. It wasn't just the pros making it all tick – the voters themselves got a nod for turning out and punching their ballots, whether through the almost 896,000 mail ballot applications received or in person at one of the 9,163 polling places peppered across the Keystone State.

Amid today's tech-laden world, PA's election officials kicked it somewhat old school, going heavy on the training. The Election Directors Training Team, launched just last year, went full throttle to prepare their teams, hitting up 23 trainings across 11 topics. It reeks of effort and, according to Schmidt, paid dividends for today's relative breeze of an election day. These prep sessions were aimed at arming poll vets and rookies alike with the know-how for a solid primary run. "The Shapiro Administration has been committed to helping all election directors receive the interactive assistance they needed to administer a successful 2024 primary," Schmidt said as explained in the state's announcement.

And while the state machinery was humming fine, the Pennsylvania Department of State staff were busy bees too, fielding approximately 600 calls on the voter hotline. Voters were curious about registration status, polling places, and mail ballots – concerns that were a drop in the bucket compared with the more than 3,600 calls during the frantic 2020 primary. With more than 75% of the pile of mail ballots received by the 8 p.m. deadline, it's a waiting game now for the final turnout figures, expected to roll out in the following weeks after every last eligible vote is tallied up and accounted for.