Mail-in ballot delays dominate Montgomery County election board meeting
NORRISTOWN — With polls set to open at 7 a.m. Tuesday, comments surrounding mail-in ballot delays dominated Monday afternoon’s Montgomery County Board of Elections meeting.
The three-member board convened less than 24 hours before the polls open for in-person voting, and all mail-in ballots must be received by 8 p.m. Tuesday when polls close.
“We are responsible for delivering on our elections and we take that responsibility very seriously,” said Montgomery County Election Board Vice Chairwoman Jamila Winder, adding that officials are “looking at every step in the process leading up to the primary.”
“I apologize to anyone that’s been inconvenienced by some of the delays,” Winder said.
Montgomery County Election Board Chairman Neil Makhija agreed, kicking off his opening comments acknowledging several issues that have taken place amid the start of the election season.
“We are thoroughly analyzing every step of the mail-in process right now,” Makhija said. “There wasn’t enough time in this primary really for people to get their mail-in and send it back, and part of that is the statutory context.”
“It’s impossible for the state to actually meet the requirements, because the certification of the election happened just about a month before this election, and we really want to get to a place where we’re mailing 50 days before at least, and so there’s a number of steps that we’re going to take including meeting with all of the vendors.”
Makhija noted there “aren’t specific turnaround times” listed in the aforementioned vendor contracts, which is something he’d like to address before the November general election.
DiBello says he’s left out
Montgomery County Commissioner Tom DiBello was apparently unaware of issues being looked into by his fellow election board members, underscoring that “we doesn’t include me.”
“So I don’t know what recommendations or things that we are going to be proposing, but I’m not specifically happy with the fact where we are today with the complete mess that the primary’s been with the ballots, but I would assure everyone that when I’m not happy, when I get pissed off, then I dig in,” DiBello said. “After tomorrow, I’m digging in because I’m not doing this come November.”
While DiBello and Makhija took similar stances on the need to work with the state legislature to ensure stakeholders are on the same page, DiBello noted the need for work to be done locally.
“It’s a very complex process, and I think that we, as three new commissioners that are now inheriting some of the issues … working and trying to do everything we could to ensure that we could get the ballots out, but we definitely have our work cut out for us, and come next week, after the dust settles we’re going to really dig in deep, and really get this to the point where come November, we’re running as smooth as possible,” DiBello said.
“I think all three of us are aligned on that,” Makhija replied.
Frustrated voters
Schwenksville resident Joanne Schweitzer shared during the meeting’s public comment period that her husband had opted to vote by mail, but “only received (a mail-in ballot) a few days ago.”
“He would have had to fill it out the day that he received it and hope that it would have gotten in time for tomorrow. So it just wasn’t enough time and I just wanted to let you know that,” she said.
Schweitzer said her husband plans to fill out the ballot and return it Tuesday to a drop box in Skippack Township.
“Our apologies. We’re well aware of this and … we’re going to make sure that this does not happen,” Makhija said.
Makhija maintained the safety and security of a dozen drop boxes situated across Montgomery County. They’re located in Cheltenham, Lansdale, Lower Merion, Norristown, Pottstown, Royersford, Skippack, Upper Dublin, Upper Frederick, Upper Merion and Upper Moreland townships. Monitored by video surveillance, the drop boxes will be available to drop off ballots until 8 p.m. on Tuesday.
“They are significantly more secure than postal boxes,” Makhija said.
In addition to mail-in ballots, public comment centered around election integrity and the need for “quality assurance” procedures to be made available to the public.
In addition, county election officials authorized the appointment of 76 election tabulators, more than 2,600 poll workers, and members of the canvassing board, an entity made up of more than 80 people, both county employees and registered Montgomery County voters.
What’s on ballot
Along with the presidential primary, several congressional and state candidates will be on the ballot. Locally, the Municipality of Norristown will hold a special election where voters will choose a seat left vacant after a candidate was ineligible to take office.
Norristown Councilwoman Lauren Hughes, a Democrat, has been serving on an interim basis and is running for the seat in the municipality’s fourth district against Republican Antonio Davila.
An election-related tip line was established by the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office. Anyone wishing to report any suspicious activity on Election Day can call 610-292-2024.
Anyone with questions about the upcoming election in Montgomery County can contact the Montgomery County Office of Voter Services. The office is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday on the sixth floor of One Montgomery Plaza, 425 Swede St., Norristown. Call 610-278-3280 or visit montgomerycountypa.gov/VoterServices for more information.
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