The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Drop boxes, vote by mail meeting’s hot topics
Counting wraps up, election results ‘pending certification’
NORRISTOWN >> The 2022 election vote counting was declared closed by Montgomery County Commissioners at their meeting on Thursday, but that didn’t stop county residents from continuing to sound off about drop boxes.
“I have suggestions on how to improve elections,” said Ambler resident David Morgan. “Voting should be done in person on Election Day. Spending on drop boxes and voting by mail can be saved.”
Election topics have dominated much of public comment in recent months, as people have expressed concerns around election security as well as outrage over mail-in voting and the dozen drop boxes situated throughout the county for voters to return their mail-in ballots.
“I have witnessed people dropping multiple ballots. I have witnessed the security guards depositing ballots and I have sat there and noticed there are only a few people coming,” said Lower Pottsgrove Township resident Tara Houseal. “So why can’t we have Election Day on Election Day instead of election season?”
County election officials have maintained that drop boxes are monitored by surveillance, with voter services staff present to assist voters.
In an interview ahead of the election, Commissioners’ Vice Chairman Ken Lawrence Jr., who heads the county Board of Elections, said personnel were on-site at each drop box location making sure that “people have signed and dated” their ballot and “also not allowing them to put in more than one ballot, which is the law.”
Also disapproving of drop boxes, Upper Salford Township resident Suzanne Stepanik called for increased “transparency” surrounding election procedural information.
“Since unfortunately, it appears that likely we’ll have mail-in and drop-box ballots in the future, it is imperative that more transparency be part of the process,” Stepanik said. “To those ends, it is necessary that written chain of custody procedures be made available to the public and posted in local newspapers.”
Lower Merion Township resident Adrian Seltzer responded to fellow commenters.
“I am totally willing to help those people who do not understand the election
process, and to understand it, so they understand how their comments do not equate with what the actual process is,” Seltzer said.
“Yes, some people have to give ID. If they’re the first time voting in their precinct, yes, they have to give ID. Some people — nurses, emergency staff — work 12hour shifts, gwetting to the polls on Election Day can be a struggle, especially if you work far away from home,” she continued. “So there’s other issues, and I am more than willing to speak to you about them, and why what you’re saying is not reasonable.”
Lawrence complimented election workers in his remarks at the meeting.
“We can’t do this without the hundreds of people who sign up, and are committed to making sure we have free and fair elections each and every time,” Lawrence said. There were 2,475 poll workers who worked on Election Day, according to Dori Sawyer, Montgomery County’s director of elections.
Montgomery County experienced a 68.49 percent voter turnout rate, according to unofficial results obtained from an election summary report. There were 607,301 registered voters and 415,942 ballots cast.
In addition to mail-in and in-person votes, there were 2,567 provisional ballots counted of the 3,166 that were returned, according to
Unofficial results from Montgomery County’s 2022 general election show a geographic representation of how people voted in Montgomery County. a dashboard detailing unofficial results. Of the 914 military ballots returned, 895 ballots were counted, and 19 were rejected.
The counting of in-person, mail-in, military, and provisional ballots was completed by the Montgomery County Office of Voter Services, but results are “pending certification.” All results are considered unofficial until the election is certified by the Montgomery County Board of Elections. Certification is expected by Nov. 28, according to Lawrence.