Karen Shuey: Berks election officials working to expedite delivery of outstanding mail ballots

Karen Shuey, Reading Eagle, Pa.
·2 min read

May 12—With the primary election right around the corner, Berks County election officials are trying to make sure voters have what they need to cast their ballots.

Stephanie Weaver, public relations officer for the county, said Thursday that election officials are aware of concerns from voters who have still not received their mail ballots for the May 17 primary and are working to fix the problem.

She said that while mail tracking information shows that more than 15,000 of the roughly 19,000 mail ballots sent out have been successfully delivered, the county is working with the Postal Service to locate where the outstanding 4,000 ballots are within the system and expedite a solution.

Still waiting for a mail ballot?

Go to the elections office at the Berks County Services Center and explain that you have not received your requested mail ballot. You will be given a ballot that you can complete and turn in on the spot.

Don't get one by election day?

Go to your assigned polling place and vote by provisional ballot. All provisional ballots are reviewed by elections staff members after the election to determine that the voter did not vote by any others means and are otherwise eligible to vote. If accepted, the vote counts just like any other vote that is issued.

Don't want to put it in the mail?

Go to your assigned polling place on election day and surrender your mail ballot. The judge of elections will be able to void the mail ballot so that you can cast your ballot on a voting machine. Completed mail ballots cannot be submitted at polling locations.

For those who have their mailed ballots, put it in one of the two official drop boxes offered by the county. One box is in the lobby of the Berks County Services Center, and the other is at the Berks County Agricultural Center in Bern Township.

The drop boxes will be open:

—May 13: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

—May 14: 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

—May 16: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

—May 17, election day: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Both drop boxes are secured by deputies from the sheriff's department. Voters who choose to drop off their ballots are not allowed to drop off ballots belonging to anyone else, unless a designated-agent form has been completed.