Wearing gloves, a King County Election worker collect ballots from a drop box in the Washington State primary, Tuesday, March 10, 2020, in Seattle. Washington is a vote by mail state.
John Froschauer / AP Photo
Pennsylvania sees a jump in requests for mail-in ballots
Most county election directors reached this week told us they’re processing requests fast enough to prevent much of a backlog.
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Emily Previti/PA Post
John Froschauer / AP Photo
Wearing gloves, a King County Election worker collect ballots from a drop box in the Washington State primary, Tuesday, March 10, 2020, in Seattle. Washington is a vote by mail state.
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(Harrisburg) — Well over half a million Pennsylvanians have requested an absentee or mail-in ballot, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State.
That’s already more than four times the number requested during the 2016 presidential primary — and we’re still six weeks out from this year’s contest. Before the pandemic, election officials anticipated an uptick of between 15 and 20 percent in mailed ballots because voters can now request them without an excuse.
Most county election directors we reached this week told us they’re processing requests fast enough to prevent much of a backlog.
More pressing concerns include opening polling places, even with more flexibility to combine and relocate them under Act 12, given the preemptive cancellations by poll workers and voting venue hosts.
We reported last week that with the expected staffing shortfall, more than a dozen counties favor an all-mail primary. We’ve since heard back from more jurisdictions (40, total) and at last check, election officials in 17 counties (home to nearly 3 million voters) favor a mail-only election, with a small number of in-person voting centers for those who need them. Several officials said the decision can be put off until just before primary Election Day, though one said it’s already too late to make the change.
Elections officials across the state are tasked with keeping voters and poll workers safe during in-person voting, mainly by equipping voting locations with personal protective supplies (masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, etc.).
Emma Lee / WHYY
A voter fills out a ballot at Cecelia Snyder Middle School in Bensalem during a special election to choose a new member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
“Every county is desperate for poll workers. And with all this is going on, if they are willing to work for me, … I want to provide for all they need,” said Monroe County Elections Director Sara May-Silfee.
Four counties had a coronavirus test run of sorts during last month’s special statehouse elections in Bucks, Westmoreland, Mercer and Butler counties. Sanitizer and other supplies were widely available then, but little more than a month later those supplies are hard to come by and only a handful of counties report being fully stocked and ready to go.
Some county election officials say orders placed more than a month ago have recently been back ordered or canceled completely by vendors. Or they lost their claim to supplies already on hand because other county offices and personnel needed them first.
“We are all out there trying to get the same stuff, asking for the same stuff and coming up empty,” says Lycoming County Election Director Forrest Lehman. “The higher up this is handled, the better as far as placing an order like this. The state might be able to go to a different source that we can’t access.”
On Tuesday, the Department of State confirmed securing 6,000 personal protective equipment kits (containing gloves, hand sanitizer and masks) to “augment” what counties already have.
Each kit consists of antibacterial wipes, a few microfiber cloths, 20 masks and pairs of gloves, 10 hand sanitizer kits, 10 screen wipes and 10 headset covers, according to DoS spokeswoman Wanda Murren.
While the kits will help, each one doesn’t cover everything a polling location needs. And other details, such as cost and timing, weren’t immediately available.
“We’ll know more … after [counties] have finalized their plans for polling places, including consolidations,” Murren wrote in an email.
Other states with June 2 primaries also are taking steps to prepare. Washington, D.C. and Indiana have laid out rules requiring the wearing of masks and other protective gear. Rhode Island is essentially going all mail, with the state starting this week to send every voter a mail-in ballot and planning to open a limited number of sites for in-person voting.
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