Today is the final day for registered voters to request a mail-in or civilian absentee ballot.
It is also the last day to vote early prior to the General Election on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Early voting is only being conducted at the county elections office located on the second floor of the county municipal building at 400 S. 8th St., Lebanon.
Lebanon County elections director Sean Drasher said a record turnout for the election is expected since voter registration is at an all-time high. When voter registration for this election cycle closed last week, there were 95,948 total registered Lebanon County voters. There are 53,547 registered Republicans and 26,772 Democrats in Lebanon County, according to Drasher.
Any registered voter who hasn’t applied for a mail-in or absentee ballot by 5 p.m. or voted early at the county municipal building through today will have to wait until next Tuesday to cast an election ballot at their local voting precinct.
While it is not too late to apply for a mail-in or civilian absentee ballot, Drasher strongly encourages any voters who choose that option to return theirs to the county election office instead of placing it in the mail.
“We will move heaven and earth to get that turned around in a day but even if we do, the mail may not deliver the ballot in time for you to vote prior to Election Day,” wrote Drasher in an email to LebTown. “It’s a limitation of the timeline placed on us by the statutes. … That said, once you get your ballot you MUST return it before 8 p.m. on Election Day for it to count. This does NOT include mailing/post marks. It has to be IN OUR HANDS by 8 p.m. on Election Day. I highly encourage people to use our ballot drop off point in the Courthouse parking lot!”
If the new record of total registered voters is any indication, turnout will be high on Election Day. And that’s certainly been the case for early voting.
“We are overwhelmed. All counties are,” wrote Drasher. “No one has ever seen voter turnout for early voting like what we are seeing this year. This morning (Monday) we had more early voters before lunch than we normally have an ENTIRE ELECTION CYCLE.”
Drasher shared the following information for the courtesy of LebTown readers.
All mail-in ballots must be received at the county elections office by 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 5.
Election officials working at local voting precincts on Election Day are prohibited from collecting mail-in or civilian absentee ballots from voters.
State law requires mail-in and absentee ballots to be either mailed to the County Board of Elections or delivered by that voter to their local elections office. In Lebanon County, voters have the option of delivering their mail or civilian absentee ballot to the voter mail-in ballot drop-off satellite office located at the county municipal building.
Operational hours for the satellite office are the same as the county municipal building, which are from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The satellite office is located in the parking lot near the rear entrance to the county municipal building.
On Election Day, election officials will staff the elections office and operate the satellite location the same hours that voting precincts are open, which is 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voters in either a drop-off line to deliver their ballot or in line at a voting precinct prior to 8 p.m. will be permitted to vote.
Concerning mail-in ballots, readers should be aware that Pennsylvania law generally requires voters to return their own ballot and prohibits people from returning other voters’ ballots to a drop box or county elections office on their behalf.
There is an exception, however, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State’s website.
If a Pennsylvania voter has a disability and needs assistance returning their ballot, they can designate someone to deliver it for them. The voter must use a “Designated Agent Form” and send the form along with their ballot with the person delivering it.
The form must be completed by both the voter and the designee, and the designated agent must have the form with them when they pick up or return the voter’s ballot or other voting materials.
The law applies whether voters are returning a ballot to the post office, to the county’s satellite location, or to the election office.
Important Date to Remember
Nov. 12: Last day for County Board of Elections to receive voted military and overseas absentee ballots (submitted for delivery no later than 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 4).
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