Lehigh County installs first ballot drop box in Allentown

Four more could be in place by Friday

The first of Lehigh County’s fiveelection dropboxesis in place in Allentown, and four more are expected to be installed across the county in the next week.

But first, the county needs to appoint people to collect the dropped-off ballots and return themtothecountyelection office.

The Lehigh County Board of Elections will hold a special meeting Thursday where it is expected to certify county deputies to collect ballots from the drop boxes every 24 hours, meeting requirements spelled out by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Once the deputies have been certified, Lehigh County Executive Phillips Armstrong said, the county intends to install drop boxes in four municipal buildings.

Armstrong explained that deputies are being used to assure the public of the election process’s integrity and to avoid any questions about the boxes’ security. He thanked Sheriff Joe Hannah for cooperating with the Election Board.

“Since we’ve already approved the drop boxes, I’m sure the board will approve the deputies,” said Armstrong, who also sits on the board.

Thefirstdropboxwasinstalled Friday at the Lehigh County Government Center in Allentown. While the four other boxes resemble U.S. Postal Service collection boxes, the one in Allentown is more akin to a mail slot in the building’s glass wall, Armstrong said. The Allentown drop point will be the only one operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Armstrong said. Signage is being added to make it moreobvious to voters, headded.

Although the county hasn’t advertised the drop slot, about 420 people had dropped off ballots there as of 4:30 p.m. Monday, Chief Clerk of Elections Timothy Benyo said.

The four other drop boxes won’t be in place until at least Friday, Armstrong said, once a team is in place to collect ballots. The drop boxes can be found at:

North Whitehall Township municipal building, 3256 Levans Road.

Upper Macungie Township municipal building, 8330 Schantz Road.

Catasauqua municipal building, 90 Bridge St.

Emmaus municipal building, 28 S. Fourth St.

Members of the public can access these four drop boxes during their host municipality’s normal business hours.

The Pennsylvania Election Code makes no mention of drop boxes, and President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign challenged their legality in a lawsuit. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled last month that drop boxes may be used this year due to the pandemic. Counties that use them must comply with strict regulations, including that the drop boxes be sealed, under constant surveillance, physically secured to their location and only accessed by certified individuals.

Northampton County drop boxes have been in place since Oct. 1 and can be found at:

Bethlehem City Hall, 10 E. Church St., from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.

Northampton County Courthouse, 669 Washington St., Easton, from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays.

Northampton County Human Services Building, 2801 Emrick Blvd., Bethlehem Township, from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.

Northampton County 911 Center, 100 Gracedale Ave., Upper Nazareth Township, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m Mondays through Fridays.

Like Lehigh County, Northampton County is using sheriff ’s deputies to collect ballots from the drop boxes and deliver them to the county courthouse.

While counties can prepare the envelopes, county officials are forbidden from tabulating votes until 7 a.m. Election Day. Officials across the state and from both political parties have warned that this will not provide enough time to declare an unofficial winner on election night. While legislation has been introduced that would allow counties a three-day head start on counting results, the bill has stalled in the state senate.