Coronavirus and the resulting efforts to flatten the curve have pushed the Presidential Primary back to June 2.
Despite Gov. Tom Wolf’s current push for residents to vote via mail-in ballot, local residents have not shown increased interest in that voting option.
According to Lisa Pratt, McKean County director of elections, this year’s deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot is May 26. The ballots have to be received by 8 p.m. on June 2 to count toward election totals.
On a related note, the last day to register to vote before the primary is May 18.
In regard to the potential for more voters to use the mail-in ballot option this year, current indications are that won’t be a concern.
“I was just looking at the numbers, and they are similar to the last election,” Pratt said.
While this concern is not likely to occur, the possibility of write-in ballots as a main voting method would be bad news for timely results. When asked what would happen if everyone in McKean County opted to skip the polls and complete a write-in ballot, Pratt confirmed that would mean a delay in the announcement of results. While Pratt can not speculate on what that delay would look like, she confirms there would be an issue if the entire county opted for mail-in ballots over voting at polling locations.
“We do not have the equipment to handle that quickly,” Pratt noted. “We do not have any high-speed scanners, so it would take longer. We would need advance notice of something like that.”
Meanwhile, looking ahead to June and the potential for COVID-19 concerns to extend that long, Pratt noted the main concern would be the health of the poll workers. While the health of voters would also be a concern, voters have the freedom to wait to visit a polling location at a time when it is not crowded. Meanwhile, the poll workers would be present throughout the day and be exposed to a large number of people and therefore potential infection.
Republican Cris Dush, a candidate for state Senate, has initiated a campaign to reach Republican voters that includes mailing the Pennsylvania application for a mail-in ballot to their residence. The application is accompanied by a letter informing the voters of the Presidential Primary date of June 2 and the opportunity to apply for a mail-in ballot by visiting VoteEarlyPA.com.
Dush’s letter encourages voters to complete the application for a mail-in ballot as soon as possible to “ensure prompt delivery and mail service.” His message lets voters know they can complete a mail-in ballot for any reason, including the opportunity to avoid lines at the polls, social distancing efforts or the fact they may be out of town the day the primary will be held.
Pratt confirmed she had heard second-hand reports of this campaign, but she had not heard of anything similar in the works from Democratic candidates.
Those seeking the senate seat include Democrat Margie Brown and Republicans Dush, Dr. Jim Brown and Herm Suplizio.
