Lebanon County officials prepare to release mail-in ballots, open drop-off point

Lebanon County election officials are moving forward with primary preparations, with staff members expecting to start mail-in ballot release the week of March 25 and establish the new ballot drop-off point by April 1.

Lebanon County’s Bureau of Registration and Elections officials are still expecting the shed that will be the drop-off point to arrive next week, according to elections director Sean Drasher. Officials approved opening the drop-off point to collect mail-in ballots on April 1.

"We have power already running out to it, so that's all set, and we have the schedule full for the first week of people filling shifts," he said.

More: Pa. Department of State launches training team to support county election directors

In a 2-1 vote March 7, commissioners approved construction of a $2,725 shed ballot drop-off point that would be staffed with at least one county employee or poll worker. The structure would be placed in five spaces of a Lebanon County municipal building parking lot, which is about 30 yards from where the original drop box was.

The drop-off site will be open between 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. On Election Day, the drop-off point will be staffed until 8 p.m. The coverage will be provided by a combination of county employees and poll workers.

"We've had a lot of people step up, and so far everyone on our list that I know of has been a poll worker or canvasser," Drasher said.

Staffing costs for maintaining the shed with just poll workers would be $120 a day, though county workers would not receive extra compensation for staffing the drop-off point. The costs of both the shed and the poll worker staffing could be covered under the Election Integrity Grant Program.

Election officials have said there are no free range mail-in ballots being distributed. Mail-in ballots that are sent out by the elections office have been specifically requested by registered voters.

"It's one ballot per person," Drasher said to the Lebanon Daily News in February. "It's tracked individually by person. Ballots and voting materials are watermarked and barcode tracked, and everything is tied to one individual. So there is no extra out there."

Commissioner Michael Kuhn, who voted with commissioner Jo Ellen Litz March 7 to establish the new drop-off point, said Thursday that the new system is an extension of the election office with residents handing their ballots to a physical person. While Kuhn said he is not a fan of mail-in ballots, he believes the new drop-off site will be more secure.

"We need to make it as secure as we can," he said. "I think we've done that (and) made an improvement on the previous drop box location."

In a 2-1 vote on Feb. 15, Republican incumbent Commissioners Bob Phillips and Kuhn ratified their previous vote to remove the box where voters could turn in their mail-in ballots. Both commissioners have said that the removal of the box was about voter integrity.

Mail-In ballot requests

The election's office is planning to send out mail-in ballots to registered voters starting next week, according to Drasher. The release of mail-in ballots across the state was delayed because of several lawsuits.

"As far as I know, we will be one of the first three counties in the whole state that is hitting the mail next week," he said. "There's only one county that I know that has paperwork processed before we did, and that's Butler. Ours are going out the same day as theirs are."

Commissioners approved the final ballots Thursday, with Drasher saying that test ballots were almost finished with Logic and Accuracy testing. According to the Pennsylvania Department of State, Logic and Accuracy testing is a series of pre-election steps intended to ensure that ballots, scanners, ballot marking devices, and all components of a county’s certified voting system are properly configured and in good working order prior to being used in an election.

The county election's office has only received 6,700 requests for mail-ballots as of March 21. Drasher said there are no competitive races on the Lebanon County ballot accept for the state House of Representatives 102 district.

"The numbers have fallen off the cliff statewide," he said. "Numbers are way down since the presidential race has been decided on both tickets. ... We should be getting hundreds a day of (mail-in ballot) applications, and we are getting 30 to 40 at this point."

In the fall, the county elections office is still expecting to receive 15,000 mail-in ballot applications for the general election on Nov. 5. The Keystone Renewal PAC, the Sentinel Action fund, and the Republican State Leadership Committee PAC have already announced the launch of the initiative March 19 of an eight-figure investment to convince Pennsylvania Republicans to vote by mail-in ballot.

"I don't think there will be a lack of interest in the fall," Drasher said.

Elections preparations

Election officials were beginning to work with KNOWiNK to set up electronic poll books to check in voters at all county precincts starting with the 2024 primary election. The electronic poll book, or e-poll books, have voters sign in on tablet computers before casting votes at their polling places.

County commissioners approved the purchase of 125 e-poll books from KNOWiNK for $231,500 in Jan. 18, which would include training on the units. The county would have two units per precinct along with a few extra, and all the costs are covered by the state Election Integrity Grant.

E-poll books are loaded with registered voters' names, addresses and birth dates. When a voter arrives, a poll worker would be able to review that information and have the voter sign, similar to having a physical poll book. E-poll books have nothing to do with casting a ballot or tabulating votes.

The books would allow poll workers to quickly identify a voter's status. Messages would display for issues that include if someone had already received a mail-in ballot, if a voter needs to verify their identification, or if they are in the wrong polling place.

E-poll books do not contain any information that is not public information, according to election officials. The tablets do not contain Social Security or driver's license numbers.

Primary Election Info

The Pennsylvania 2024 presidential primary is scheduled for April 23. The last day to register to vote is April 8. The last day to request a mail-in or absentee ballot is April 16.

Residents looking for more information can visit the Lebanon County Voter Registration Office website at http://www.lebcounty.org/depts/Voter_Registration or contact them by phone at 717-228-4428.

Matthew Toth is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at mtoth@ldnews.com or on X at @DAMattToth.

This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Lebanon Vounty prepares releasing mail-in ballots for April primary