Allegheny County election officials say primaries should go smoothly
Nothing has changed in Pennsylvania’s election law since last November’s litigious and ultra-scrutinized presidential contests, but officials say that shouldn’t be a problem when voters head to the polls in a few weeks.
For one, counties had almost universally asked the state Legislature to allow them more time to open and prepare mail-in and absentee ballots. But the calls weren’t heeded because leaders in Harrisburg wanted to review last year’s election first through a series of hearings.
As those hearings continue and the May 18 primary approaches, county officials are preparing to administer another election under many of the same rules that gave them headaches five months ago. But this time, turnout should be light — it’s an intra-party affair for municipal spots during a pandemic — and counties have had two full elections to adjust to the existence of mail-in balloting.
Allegheny County officials say they’re well-prepared to pull off a smooth primary, and that they’ve been able to tweak their processes — from counting votes to training poll workers — to mitigate any concerns that remained from their hectic experience last year.
Voters should expect all 1,323 polling places to be open, elections manager David Voye said Tuesday, and of the 6,600 poll workers needed to staff them, 3,200 already are scheduled to work. The county is getting about 100 more workers each day, and administrators are taking a “hybrid” approach to train them: some in-person training and some online.
In-person voting will look the same here. The county will encourage mask-wearing — but can’t turn anyone away for failing to wear one — and will provide masks, sanitizer, floor-marking for social distancing and signage, Mr. Voye said.
And when it comes time to count the primary votes, it should go smoothly, officials said, and to make things a little easier, the Pennsylvania Department of State made it so voters no longer have to print their names or addresses on their declaration envelopes — meaning that counters don’t have to withhold extra ballots.
“I think we’re fully confident,” said Chet Harhut, deputy manager of elections for Allegheny County. “We’re going in with the same plan we did last time. We’re going to have a whole host of county employees over [at the warehouse]. They’ve done this a few times now. It should go relatively quickly.”
The county is breezing through the processing of mail-in ballot applications, too. Officials say they’ve gotten through about 80,000 applications so far, and are finishing 3,000 more each day. Only 10,000 are backlogged. Mr. Voye said the county is encouraging people to apply online before the May 11 deadline, or to come in-person — although because the ballot isn’t ready yet, voters won’t be able to use the office as a one-stop shop to apply and vote.
Although they say they’re ready no matter what, county officials wanted to see Harrisburg push back the deadline for voters to apply for mail-in ballots — so the timeline is more conducive for voters to successfully submit their completed ballots by the time polls close on Election Day. Counties also wanted more time to pre-canvass mail-in and absentee ballots, but will have to wait until 7 a.m. on Election Day.
It was never likely that the Legislature would act in time for the May primary. Republican leaders told news outlets that they weren’t likely to make any changes to the law until they could finish oversight hearings — and those are still ongoing.
“I had hoped that we would have been able to get some of the fixes quicker,” said Allegheny County elections board member Sam DeMarco, a Republican, “but I also understand the thought process behind it: that rather than just haphazardly adjusting to the obvious, let’s take a complete look at this and see what we can learn and make the best recommendations for us to move forward.”
Mr. DeMarco said he hopes the Legislature will act on changes before November’s general, a sentiment shared by the executive director of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania.
Lisa Schaefer, who heads the organization representing Pennsylvania’s counties, said it would be too late for the Legislature to start drafting legislation in September after its summer recess. It’s time to “sit down and start putting words on paper” now, she said, so counties can start “processing changes and implementing them this year if we can do so.”
State Sen. Lindsey Williams, D-West View, who is on the bipartisan election integrity and reform committee, said she would also like to see a plan in place for November.
“I wish we had it before [this] May,” Ms. Williams said, “but at least now we are going through a process of hearing from the experts and what they need.”
Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald has been asked to testify before the committee in a few weeks, a county spokeswoman said. Next week, he will join an elections board meeting with Mr. DeMarco and Democrat Bethany Hallam to talk about preparations for the primary.
County officials are encouraging voters to apply for a mail-in ballot as soon as possible if they’re nervous about in-person voting — and, when the time comes, to submit their mail-in ballot quickly. May 3 is the deadline to register to vote.