Secretary Of State Says It Was ‘Incredibly Easy’ After Voting In Bucks County

The state official who oversees elections cast her ballot Friday morning in Bucks County.

Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar, a Doylestown resident, visited the Bucks County Board of Elections office at the county Administration Building with Bucks County Commissioners Diane Ellis-Marseglia, Bob Harvie, and Gene DiGirolamo and members of the media in tow.

Boockvar and Ellis-Marseglia went to the office to verify that they were eligible to vote and received an on-demand printed ballot, which can be filled out in person and returned. The two officials filled in the ballots, sealed them up properly, and handed them over to election staff for counting on Tuesday, November 3.

The whole process took only a few minutes.

The secretary and Ellis-Marseglia, of Middletown Township, both commented on the ease of voting that way.

“I went to the election office today, 25 days before the election, applied for a mail ballot, filled it out and cast it, all in one visit,” said Boockvar. “It was incredibly easy, and this early voting option is a convenient and secure choice for all Pennsylvanians.”

The secretary’s public visit to cast her vote comes as the state prepares for the first general election since Act 77 passed with bipartisan support last year. Due to updates in law, the state has no-excuse absentee and mail-in voting, on-demand ballot printing, and in-person voting with new machines in polling places on Tuesday, November 3.

The Pennsylvania Department of State reported that more than 2 million mail-in ballot requests were received in recent weeks. Bucks County just this week started mailing out ballots to more than 150,000 voters who requested them.

In the spring primary election, the state reported about 1.5 million votes were cast by mail.

Boockvar acknowledged that there is high demand for mail-in ballots, but she said she knows the counties will be able to handle the task.

She also outlined security measures, like a national database of voters and measures at the county level, that will make mail-in voting secure in the state.

DiGirolamo, who served as a Republican state representative from Bensalem until January, said that no matter how people vote, the county would ensure their vote will be safe.

“Nothing funny is going to happen,” he said.

The commissioners and Board of Elections Director Thomas Freitag showed Boockvar and the media the beefed up equipment that will be used to sort and open ballots. The largest piece of equipment sorts ballots by town and precinct and is called “The Dragon.”

Under Act 77, counties can only begin opening ballot envelopes and prepare them for scanning at 7 a.m. on election day. DiGirolamo and his two fellow commissioners hope the state legislature will update the law to allow counties to conduct so-called pre-canvassing that would give them the ability to open envelopes and prepare ballots for election night counting in the days leading up to election day.

The commissioners have warned that if pre-canvassing is not allowed, it could take them more than a day or days to tally all the mail-in ballots.

Harvie urged voters to complete and return mail-in ballots sooner rather than later.

Mail-in and absentee ballot requests have to be received no later than Tuesday, October 27. Completed ballots must be postmarked by Tuesday, November 3 and received by Friday, November 6 in order to be counted.

Mail-in and absentee ballots can be dropped off to secure drop boxes during regular businesses at the county offices by Five Points in Bristol Township, Doylestown Borough, and Richland Township.

Voters can apply for mail-in or absentee ballots at VotesPA.com and at the Board of Elections’ main office in Doylestown Borough.

In-person voting will take place from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. across the county on Tuesday, November 3. A list of polling places can be found online.

At the county offices in Bristol Township, Doylestown Borough, and Richland Township, election officials have the option to print on-demand ballots that can be completed immediately and returned at the secure drop box.

Each mail-in and absentee ballot will have a barcode to make sure a voter cannot cast more than one ballot.

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