Montco Plans For Massive Mail-In Ballot Influx For 2020 Election

NORRISTOWN, PA — With coronavirus still present in Montgomery County and November's general election fast approaching, local officials are working out just how they'll handle the anticipated massive influx of mail-in ballots. And there may be a national spotlight on the process locally as Montgomery is one of the most populous counties in Pennsylvania, a swing state which could determine the outcome of the 2020 Presidential election.

The county is expecting significantly more mail-in ballots for the November general election than they saw during the primary season, in which a historic 126,000 Montgomery County residents voted by mail. Montgomery County Commissioner Ken Lawrence, the Chair of the Election Board, said it could be as much as twice as that, and "certainly over 200,000."

Some delays are inevitable. The county does not have an exact estimate on how long it will take to tabulate votes for the general election.

"We are going to do everything in our power to count as quickly as possible," Lawrence said, noting that once counting begins, it will continue 24 hours a day until all are counted. "We're literally going to set it up so we can counting around the clock."

Health officials and local leaders continue to advise that voters cast their ballots from home if at at all possible, a point that's become partisan on both the local and national level.

Pennsylvania passed a law last fall that allows residents to vote by mail without providing a reason. It proved crucial with the dawn of the pandemic, as record numbers of voters cast mail-in ballots.

One thing which Lawrence said would help is if the state allowed the county to begin counting mail-in ballots earlier. At present, the law prevents any ballots from being processed prior to 7 a.m. on Election Day in Pennsylvania. No ballots can be counted until after polls close

"To some degree, it just becomes a matter of time and resources," Lawrence said.

Local Republicans have been vocal in their opposition to mail-in balloting, and leaders have noted several issues that occurred following the June primary. The Montgomery County Republican Committee said that a number of ballots were mailed with incorrect instructions, and that some voters received incorrect ballots.

"(I'm worried) that we do not have a fair election based upon the issues we experienced in the primary," Elizabeth Preate Havey, the director of the Montgomery County Republican Committee, told Patch.

A report put together by the Committee took issue with the ballot drop-off boxes that were placed in 10 locations around the county. The boxes were put in place both to expedite the counting of ballots and to improve voter access to timely drop-off locations. But Republicans said that they fielded complaints that security guards were not checking to ensure that voters were only dropping off their own ballots, as is the policy. They also called the process of collecting the ballots from the boxes into a county employee's car "unsecure."

"If the radical-leftist mob is ripping down statues and burning police cars with impunity, what’s to stop them from stealing or destroying the votes inside a mail ballot drop box???" Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Gale shared in a social media post earlier this month.

Havey also said the Committee wants to check the signatures on the mail-in ballots to ensure they are registered voters.

"We are still putting together our plan (for the election)," she said. "We are actively recruiting volunteers to help monitor the canvassing process."

Handling this number of mail-in ballots is obviously unprecedented in Montgomery County and other counties around Pennsylvania and across the nation. Montgomery County had just 10,000 mail-in ballots during the 2016 general election. Lawrence acknowledged the challenges but expressed optimism that the general election would run smoothly.

"There was definitely a learning curve there," Lawrence said of the 2020 primary. "We haven't dealt with this before."

The county commissioners have approved $1.7 million in spending for more equipment, scanners, and other machines which they hope will help them process things more efficiently. They've also reorganized their organizational approaching, hiring a new director of mail-in ballots and a lieutenant, who are expected to build out a staff to address the election's challenges.

The county reduced the number of polling places during the primary election down to 140 locations, all of them in public schools. For the general election, the county will be back up to 352 polling locations.

Many locations will be different, however, than usual. Some of the traditional polling places are in senior homes or community centers with a large percentage of individuals who are at heightened risk for the virus.

New polling places are currently being scouted out, Lawrence said. It's not yet clear if schools will again be utilized to the extent they were during the primary season. One reason they worked out well for the primary was because all schools in the county were closed in June. For most districts in the county, that is not the plan for November.

Montgomery County has seen a slight rise in cases over the last two weeks, but the positivity rate of tests has dropped to a number which health officials say is a positive indicator: 3.47 percent, as of Wednesday. Regardless of how much the virus is beaten back by Election Day come November, the same precautions will still need to be exercised. "We are certainly still going to be in a pandemic in November," Lawrence noted. "It's our job too that if you choose to vote in person, that it's as safe as possible for you."

Mail-in voting continues to be strongly encouraged by Gov. Wolf's administration and health officials.

The county is also in need of additional poll workers, as many traditional volunteers are elderly and at-risk and will not be volunteering in November.