Drop boxes added as Dauphin County starts sending out mail-in ballots

With additional drop boxes, Dauphin has more mail ballot return options than any neighboring county

• Jordan Wilkie/WITF
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  As the democracy reporter for WITF, I will cover any kind of story that has to do with how we govern ourselves. That will include doing a lot of election coverage about how to access the ballot, how public officials administer elections, the technology used to run and secure elections, and the laws that govern it all.
  
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One of seven mail-in and absentee ballot drop boxes in Dauphin County.

Mail-in ballots will hit voters’ homes as early as today in Dauphin County. Earlier this week, the elections office dropped off 15,107 requested mail-in and absentee ballots at the post office. 

Now, the county has more options available for voters to return their ballots than ever before. 

“Ballots can be returned by mail, in person at the Dauphin County Bureau of Registration and Elections Office or at one of our 7 secure drop box locations,” said county elections director Chris Spackman. “These locations are monitored by 24/7 video surveillance and collected daily by county employees.”

Dauphin expanded its  drop box locations to seven, up from two. Its neighbors, Cumberland and Lancaster are not offering drop boxes, per the Department of State’s website. York only has one at its county elections office and Lebanon put theirs in a shed open during business hours and monitored by staff.

Voters can find information about how to return mail-in ballots at their county’s website or through the Department of State’s website. 

Every county has to start mailing out ballots by April 9 and keep it up through the mail ballot request deadline on April 16. 

Ballots must be returned no later than 8 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, April 23. 

Voters can track the status of their mail-in or absentee ballots through the Department of State and make sure their registration is up to date. Monday, April 8, is the deadline to register or update registration for the primary. 

A collection of interviews, photos, and music videos, featuring local musicians who have stopped by the WITF performance studio to share a little discussion and sound. Produced by WITF’s Joe Ulrich.

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