Pennsylvania's top elections official praises Franklin County elections team

Pennsylvania's top elections official gave Franklin County's elections team a good review following a recent meeting in Chambersburg.

As elections in the state are run at the county level, Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt is more than halfway through visiting all 67 counties to meet local leaders and learn more about their election operations.

"I ran elections in Philadelphia for 10 years and I know a lot about running elections in Philadelphia, but that doesn’t mean I know anything about running elections in Franklin County or Tioga County or even Allegheny County," he said. "So, it's worth the time to meet with the directors of election in each county and when possible, their county commissioners as well to hear from them how the Pennsylvania Department of State can be supportive of their efforts."

Schmidt, a city commissioner in Philadelphia before Gov. Josh Shapiro tapped him to lead the Department of State, described his visit with the Franklin County election officials — including Election Director Jennie Aimes and county commissioners Bob Ziobrowski, Dean Horst and John Flannery — as more low-key than others given the county's experience and lack of election-related issues.

"One reason I knew very little about elections in Franklin County is because they're very well run," Schmidt said. "I know a lot of elections (teams) in some counties that are struggling, but it's a very experienced team here and just not a county that has encountered problems the way that some counties have."

Schmidt's tour of the state follows the implementation last year of a training program to ensure election teams in all counties know the rules, regulations and best practices to follow to carry out a successful election.

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The 2020 election, with the turmoil over delays tied to then-new mail-in voting and the strain it placed on Pennsylvania's role in determining the outcome of the election, was followed by significant turnover of election directors and teams across the state, Schmidt said. The training program, with up to 100 participants in each session, is an opportunity for experienced directors to share insight with newer ones.

"There's no do-overs when it comes to an election, there's no re-dos, it all has to go smoothly, so providing training is one of those things that we began doing, and it's been very well received," he said.

The heightened political tension in America does not affect how elections are run, but lessons learned have led to better security measures, according to Schmidt. He was in Chambersburg before the attempted assassination Saturday of former President Donald Trump, now officially the GOP nominee, when national political news centered on Democratic infighting about whether President Joe Biden should be replaced as the nominee.

"The threat environment has changed since 2020," Schmidt said. "Hopefully we won't experience any of that ugliness that we saw in 2020, whether it's threats to voters or polling places or election administrators. So the Shapiro administration set up an election threat task force made up law enforcement agencies at the federal and state level as well as people with election responsibilities.

"So, in the event that we do experience any of that ugliness again, everybody knows what everybody's role is. Law enforcement can do its job that allows our election workers to do the job that only they can do, which is counting our voters votes."

Asked for comment about the meeting with Schmidt, Aines, the county's elections director, said she let him know that the country was struggling with the updated voter registration application that was launched in 2022 and added the option for a voter to request a mail-in ballot at the same time.

"This was a two-sided application which was confusing for voters and an administrative nightmare for county elections offices.  Although they will still have the dual application available, Secretary Schmidt said that they are bringing back the one-page registration application as well," she said.

Schmidt highlighted the state's introduction last year of automatic voter registration with driver's license renewals. Citizens do have the option to opt out.

"That has led to an increase of new voters registering in Pennsylvania and also helps make the voter rolls more accurate," he said.

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Schmidt has not yet been to neighboring Fulton County, which remains in litigation with the state over Republican county commissioners allowing multiple third-party inspections of Dominion Voting Systems machines used locally four years ago. Fulton County is fighting to not have to pay upwards of $1 million in legal fees incurred by the state and Dominion.

Schmidt declined to comment on the case, citing the ongoing litigation.

"We all have to work together, regardless of whatever litigation might be going on at any given time, because elections are too important. Our entire system of government is based on you making your voice heard, casting your vote and having it counted," he said.

The county commissioners did not return a request for comment.

Things to know about the 2024 election

The general election is on Nov. 5. It's a presidential election year, and Pennsylvanians will also vote in races for U.S. senator, state senators and state legislators.

The polls will be open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

You must be registered to vote. Oct. 21 is the last day you can register to be able to vote in this year's election.

If you want to vote by mail, you must apply for your mail-in ballot by Oct. 29. That is also the deadline to apply for an absentee ballot.

The county's election office must have your mail-in or absentee ballot no later than 8 p.m. Nov. 5. Be sure to mail it a few days ahead of time or drop it off at the Franklin County Administration Building, 272 N. Second St., Chambersburg, Pa. 17201.

If you are not sure about the location of your polling place, if you are registered to vote or you have other questions about voting, go to pa.gov. You can also find details and information specific to the county at franklincountypa.gov.

Amber South can be reached at asouth@publicopinionnews.com.

This article originally appeared on Chambersburg Public Opinion: Pa. Secretary of Commonwealth Al Schmidt on Franklin County elections