Montco installs 11 mail-in drop boxes
NORRISTOWN » Officials authorized another secure drop box for voters to submit their-mail-in ballots for the upcoming general election during a recent Montgomery County Board of Elections meeting.
Conshohocken joined the list of 10 other municipalities with drop boxes in Montgomery County, which are available for use starting Oct. 3.
Ballots placed in the drop boxes will be delivered to the county’s Office of Voter Services each day and “date stamped when they are received,” county officials said in a statement.
The drop boxes will be available for use from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on
Tuesdays and Thursdays and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays at the following locations:
• Cheltenham: The Cheltenham Wall Park, located at 1 Wall Park Drive in Elkins Park
• Conshohocken: 225 Washington St. in Conshohocken
• Lansdale: The Lansdale Church Road Parking Lot, located at 226 Station Square Blvd. in Lansdale
• Lower Merion: The Lower Merion Ludington Library, located at 5 S. Bryn Mawr Ave. in Bryn Mawr
• Norristown: Airy Street Parking Lot, located at the intersection of DeKalb and Airy streets in Norristown.
•Potts town: The Pot ts town Montgomery County Community College – West Campus at the Hanover Street Building, located at 95 S. Hanover St. in Pottstown,
• Royersford: The Roy e rs ford Municipal Building, located at 300 Main St ., in Royersford
• Skippack: The Skippack Municipal Building, located at 4089 Heckler Road in Skippack
• Upper Dublin: The Upper DublinMunicipal Building, located at 801 Loch Alsh Ave. in Fort Washington
• Upper Frederick: Green Lane Park, located at 2144 Snyder Road inGreen Lane
• Upper Moreland: The Willow Grove YMCA, located at 3300 Davisville Road in Hatboro Drop boxes will also be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, and from 9 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Nov. 2 and on Election Day, Nov. 3. Voters must have their ballots submitted via drop box or by way of the county’s voter services office by 8 p.m. on Election Day.
“Due to concerns over the spread of COVID-19, we still see a high demand for mail-in voting, and mail delivery times are slower than normal,” Ken Lawrence Jr., chairman of theMontgomery County Board of Elections, said in a statement on Friday. “We are doing everythingwe can to help voters meet the Nov. 3 General Election Day deadline by providing these secure ballot drop-off boxes.”
Although people are only permitted to return their own mail-in ballot, a county spokesperson said there are exceptions for voters with an “illness or disability that will prevent them from dropping off their ballot.”
Those voters can designate an agent in the same household to return a ballot on their behalf to the county’s voter services office. To obtain a certification form, as well as more information, visit www.montcopa.org/VoterServices.
Pennsylvania’s voter registration deadline is Oct. 19. The last day to request a mail-in or absentee ballot is at 5 p.m. on Oct. 27, according to Lawrence, who stressed that “postmarks don’t apply” for either dead
line.
“Mail-in ballots and absentee ballots have started to be sent so people should be checking their mailboxes for them,” Lawrence said during the Oct. 1 Montgomery County Board of Commissioners meeting.
To check the status of a mail-in or absentee ballot, visit the Pennsylvania Department of State Voter Serviceswebsite at www.pavoterservices.pa.gov.
As for the in-person section of the general election, officials proposed poll locations at the following precincts: Collegeville, Conshohocken, Douglass, Lower Gwynedd, Lower Merion, New Hanover, Plymouth, Pottstown, Springfield, Upper Dublin, Upper Frederick, Whitpain, and the UpperMerion Town Center, according to theMontgomery County Board of Elections agenda.
However, there wasn’t a ruling on these, and 15 locations have yet to be confirmed, according to a county spokesperson.
Listings of polling locations can be found at www. montcopa.org/voterservices.
“Most of our polling locations have already been approved so if you do want to knowyou can go to thewebsite and check that as well, but every registered voter in Montgomery County will receive a letter … to let you know your polling location,” Lawrence said.
County officials urged those voting in person to wear a mask to their respective polling location, and added there will be sanitizing and social distancing protocols enforced. County officials also clarified in a statement that voters who requested a mail-in ballot can opt to vote in person instead.
“Either bring your ballot and envelopes to the polls with you so that they can be voided by a poll worker, enabling you to vote in person,” county officials said in a statement on Friday. “Or, fill out a provisional ballot, which will only be counted once after verification that the Election Board has not received your mail-in ballot.”
Those with questions can contact the Montgomery County Office of Voter Services from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days per week at 610278-3275, or email voters@ montcopa.org.
For more information about the general election inMontgomery County, visit www.montcopa.org and click on “Election 2020.” Area residents can get additional updates on the county’s Facebook, Instagram, Nextdoor, and Twitter pages.
As the Montgomery County ballot drop-off boxes become operational Oct. 3, the District Attorney’s Office has established a tip line to report suspicious activity around ballot boxes aswell as election issues on Nov. 3. The tip line is 610278-2020.
Shared legal services
In other business, the Montgomery County Commissioners authorized a contract, Aronchick, Segal and Pudlin, of Norristown for “shared legal services for Bucks County, Chester County and the City of Philadelphia for litigation related to the 2020 presidential election,” the contract stated.
According to the agreement, law firm partners would receive $360 per hour, $300 per hour for associates and $150 per hour for paralegals.
Along with Montgomery County, Berks and Chester counties, as well as Philadelphia, would share “a quarter of the cost,” according to Barbara O’Malley, Montgomery County’s deputy chief operating officer.
“[The] contract provides for legal fees related to the lawsuit Donald J. Trump for President Inc. vs. Kathy Boockvar brought by the Trump Campaign against the commonwealth and all 67 Pennsylvania counties,” O’Malley said.