Lebanon County officials have proposed a staffed ballot drop off point

During the Nov. 7, 2023 municipal elections, North Lebanon Township resident Brenda Hunter had a 97-year-old neighbor who had trouble returning their mail-in ballot before the deadline. So Hunter and her husband offered to take her to the Lebanon County Courthouse to place her ballot in the drop box.

"The ease of that drop box was the right choice for her," she said. "The drop box is secure, it's in a safe place where she wouldn't have felt threatened. It's a reliable choice when time is of the essence, as it was in her case."

Hunter was one of more than 30 residents crowded the county commissioners' meeting room Thursday morning asking that commissioners reconsider removing the courthouse ballot drop box. However, commissioners introduced new plans to residents for a proposed ballot drop off station.

In a 2-1 vote on Thursday, Feb. 15, Republican incumbent Commissioners Bob Phillips and Michael Kuhn ratified their previous vote to remove the box where voters could turn in their mail-in ballots. Both commissioners have said that the removal of the box was about voter integrity.

"Even before we made this decision, I was wondering, 'Can we do this a better way?'" Kuhn, the election board chairman, said. "'Is there a better way to do this?' And I think we've come up with an idea."

The former ballot drop box was located behind the Lebanon County Courthouse near a security entrance. The box had a surveillance camera mounted to the top, and in April 2021 Phillips and then Commissioner William Ames voted to limit access to the box to regular business hours.

Lebanon County’s Bureau of Registration and Elections office received about 27% of mail-in ballots from the drop box, according to officials.

In a 2-1 vote on Jan. 18, Phillips and Kuhn originally voted to remove the box. County Solicitor Matt Bugli said the ratification vote Thursday was to address issues of the Sunshine Act brought up by the Pennsylvania ACLU.

The last day to register to vote in the presidential primary is April 8, and the last day to request a mail-in or absentee ballot is April 16.

Proposed Ballot Drop Off Area

Elections Director Sean Drasher introduced a proposal to residents and the county commissioners Thursday for a staffed ballot drop off point. The structure would be placed in five spaces of a Lebanon County municipal building parking lot, which is about 30 yards from where the original drop of box was.

"We'll be able to make sure there is somebody double checking one person, one ballot," he said. "That person will be in a shelter of some kind, which we're trying to figure out how to do right now and get in place by the election."

While the project specifics are still being finalized, Drasher said residents would be able to access the structure by a drive-up lane. The only function for staff at the drop off location would be to collect ballots from voters.

If the ballot drop off point is approved by commissioners, officials acknowledged that there would need to be a discussion of cost. Drasher said the project does not fall under the election budget, and there would be recruiting for people to staff the drop off location.

"I will have to pull from my office to cover holes, but I have three full-timers," he said. "That's it, and I already struggle to fill all the temporary job workers we hire this time of year to keep the data processing going in the office. So we will need help."

Among the decisions that would need to be ironed out is how to secure the ballots after they've been collected. Drasher said polling places already have secure bags to transport ballots and areas such as Chester County already have staffed polling drop off areas, so there are options to secure ballots after a worker receives them.

Commissioners voted unanimously to move forward with Drasher's proposal, asking for a final plan be brought at the commissioner's March 7 meeting for approval.

Public Comment

During an almost two-hour public comment on the issue, commissioners said that most of their correspondence was from residents who wanted them to reinstate the drop box.

Phillips said during the meeting that he would not retract his vote to eliminate the box, referencing incidents in Lehigh and Chester counties.

"We've taken a lot of hits on making it as convenient as possible," he said to residents. "I think convenience is important, but I can tell you, with the feedback that I got, several people have violated the law by carrying more than one ballot to that drop box."

Lebanon resident Suzanne Fry told commissioners she was initially angry at the elimination of the drop box with no proposed alternatives before Thursday's meeting.

"I may remind you that voting voting should be as easy as possible, and it's something to keep in mind for every action of the election board," she said. "And that process of voting has a reasonable amount of checks and balances already in place."

Amy Widestrom, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania, told commissioners the drop box helps Lebanon County voters and is a vital part of the democratic process in the county.

"Ballot drop boxes are a crucial means for citizens to exercise their right to vote securely and conveniently," she said. "By offering a way to submit ballots at a time and a place that suits their needs, drop boxes ensure that no voter is disenfranchised due to logistical hurdles or physical challenges."

Rachel Moyer, A Republican primary candidate for state representative for the 102nd Legislative District, was one of only two residents who publicly supported the removal of the box Thursday.

"I would like to point out that several counties have already removed drop boxes, one of them is our neighbor Lancaster County," she said. "I believe this to be their third year doing that, so we will not be the only ones with this removal."

Mail-in Ballot security

Despite how they voted on the ballot drop box issue, both commissioners and election officials said there are no free range mail-in ballots that are being distributed. Mail-in ballots that are sent out by the elections office have been specifically requested by registered voters.

"It's one ballot per person," he said. "It's tracked individually by person. Ballots and voting materials are watermarked and barcode tracked, and everything is tied to one individual. So there is no extra out there."

County officials are estimating they will send out more than 16,000 mail-in ballots for the April primary.

Primary Election Info

The Pennsylvania 2024 presidential primary is scheduled for April 23. The last day to register to vote is April 8. The last day to request a mail-in or absentee ballot is April 16.

Residents looking for more information can visit the Lebanon County Voter Registration Office website at http://www.lebcounty.org/depts/Voter_Registration or contact them by phone at 717-228-4428.

Matthew Toth is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at mtoth@ldnews.com or on X at @DAMattToth.

This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Lebanon County PA officials propose staffed ballot drop off point