HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — More than 4,000 mail ballot applications have been challenged across 14 Pennsylvania counties, leaving election officials to decide voter eligibility during hearings that will extend well past Election Day.

State elections officials say the “mass challenges” focused on two separate groups -- people who may have forwarded their mail without also changing their voter registration and nonmilitary U.S. voters living overseas. The overseas voters are only entitled to cast ballots under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act for president and congressional seats.

The state had a 5 p.m. Friday deadline to for anyone to challenge mail-in ballot applications; any ballots from those voters whose applications were challenged must be sequestered until the county elections board officials hold a hearing to adjudicate the claims. Those hearings must be no later than Friday, three days after Election Day.

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