Election board OKs ballot boxes

Chairman Ken Lawrence Jr. encourages voter registration and outlines deadlines

As Tuesday marked National Voter Registration Day 2020, Montgomery County Board of Elections Chairman Ken Lawrence Jr. urged residents to exercise their civic duty.

“So if you’re not registered to vote, this is a good day to do so,” Lawrence said Tuesday morning. “Or if you know someone who is not registered to vote, you should encourage them to do so.”

Voters must register to vote by Oct. 19 in order to participate in the general election, according to Lawrence. He stressed that “postmarks don’t apply,” and that the registration “must be received by the deadline.

Officials picked up where they left off when they narrowly approved 10 secure ballot drop boxes for the Nov. 3 general election Tuesday morning. The county election board initially met Sept. 17 after the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners meeting, but the session was recessed until Tuesday.

“The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled last week that drop boxes are permitted,” he said. “We received nearly 30 percent of our ballots by drop box in the primary election, so I’m pleased that we can expand these drop box locations and make sure that Montgomery County voters who choose to vote by mail have the opportunity to turn in their ballots.”

The proposal was granted in a 2-1 vote Tuesday. Lawrence endorsed the countywide initiative, along with Commissioner Valerie Arkoosh, while Vice Chairman Joe Gale was the sole dissenter.

Ten drop boxes will open Oct. 3, according to John Marlatt, solicitor for the county’s election board. He added that the locations are widespread and accessible via public transportation.

The drop boxes will be available for use from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays at the following locations:

• Cheltenham: The Cheltenham Wall Park, at 1 Wall Park Drive in Elkins Park

• Lansdale: The Lansdale Church Road Parking Lot, at 226 Station Square Blvd. in Lansdale

• Lower Merion: The Lower Merion Ludington Library, at 5 S. Bryn Mawr Ave. in Bryn Mawr

• Norristown: Airy Street Parking Lot, at the intersection of DeKalb and Airy streets in Norristown.

• Pottstown: The Pottstown Montgomery County Community College – West Campus at the Hanover Street Building, at 95 S. Hanover St. in Pottstown,

• Royersford: The Royersford Municipal Building, at 300 Main St., in Royersford

• Skippack: The Skippack Municipal Building, at 4089 Heckler Road in Skippack

• Upper Dublin: The Upper Dublin Municipal Building, at 801 Loch Alsh Ave. in Fort Washington

• Upper Frederick: Green Lane Park, at 2144 Snyder Road in Green Lane

• Upper Moreland: The Willow Grove YMCA, at 3300 Davisville Road in Hatboro

Officials are working to secure a drop box for the Conshohocken and Whitemarsh areas, but details on a location were not yet available.

Drop boxes will also be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, and from 9 p.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 2 and on Election Day, Nov. 3.

“The drop boxes will be closed promptly at 8 p.m. on Election Day, and no one will be permitted to deposit a ballot into a drop box after 8 p.m.,” Marlatt said.

Marlatt relayed several safety protocols in place with respect to the drop boxes including having “county personnel monitor [the] drop boxes” during operation hours, using “video surveillance” at the locations when they’re in use and having the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office “handle the secure transport” to the voter services department.

“We are making sure that all ballots are tracked for their transport from the ballot drop box locations to the canvas facility, and we can ensure that they are accounted for in every step of that process,” Marlatt said.

Voters choosing to vote by mail must apply for a mail-in or absentee ballot by 5 p.m. Oct. 27, and “postmarks do not apply,” according to Lawrence.

“We are still waiting for the state to certify the ballot pending a lawsuit,” he said. “Once that happens, we will begin to format and print the county ballots to mail.”

What does that mean for local constituents? Lawrence said “we are estimating that voters could start receiving their ballots by late September into early October.”

To check the status of a mail-in or absentee ballot, visit the Pennsylvania Department of State Voter Services website at www.pa voterservices.pa.gov.

With respect to the upcoming election’s in-person portion, local officials authorized the relocation of nearly 50 polling places.

Polling places were consolidated during the June 2 primary amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Marlatt said. He added that the “Pennsylvania election code permits county boards to relocate” polling places.

The changes impacted 47 precincts in Abington, Ambler, Cheltenham, East Norriton, Franconia, Hatboro, Jenkintown, Landale, Lower Merion, Lower Providence, Lower Salford, Norristown, Plymouth, Pottstown, Souderton, Springfield, Upper Gwynedd, Upper Merion, Upper Providence and West Norriton, according to the county’s election board.

“We have 325 polling places that will be returning to their individual polling locations for the general,” Marlatt said. “With these 47 today, that leaves us somewhere right in the area of 50 that we have to relocate still for the general election,” Marlatt said.

Marlatt and Lawrence emphasized voters will receive a written notice of their polling place as well as informing them of any changes. Additional information can be found on the Office of Voter Services’ website.

“If you are registered to vote in Montgomery County, you will get a letter,” Marlatt said.

As for the in-person portion of the upcoming general election, preparations are underway.

“We’ve received an outpouring of interest to help work the polling locations and we appreciate that. We are still going through applications now,” Lawrence said last week. “Since we have received so much interest in poll worker positions, it is possible that you may be asked if you are interested in taking on another role in elections operations on or after Election Day.”

For further assistance, call the county’s voter services office from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Sunday at 610-278-3275 or visit montcopa.org and click on the “Election 2020” tab.

According to Lawrence, the local site offers myriad resources, allowing voters to register to vote, check their registration status, apply for a mail-in or absentee ballot, check the ballot status or cancel the ballot, as well as verify their polling locations.

Voters can also check out the county’s social media pages on Facebook, Instagram, Nextdoor and Twitter to learn more.

“So if you’re not registered to vote, this is a good day to do so. Or if you know someone who is not registered to vote, you should encourage them to do so.” — Ken Lawrence Jr., Montgomery County Board of Elections Chairman