Allegheny County To Open Additional Election Offices To Help Cut Down On Crowds And Allow More Options
ALLEGHENY COUNTY, Pa. (KDKA) - As we get closer to Election Day, more people are looking to take advantage of mail-in voting.
To help cut down on crowds and allow more options to voters, Allegheny County will open several branch locations to process applications this weekend.
"Just giving the voters more alternatives to vote safely and securely," said David Voye, the Allegheny County Elections Division manager.
You have the option to drop off a completed mail-in ballot or apply for a ballot that will be printed right there. The one-stop-shop opens on Saturday.
"They enter the building and if they haven't yet completed the application, there are tables set up to complete. Then they will be directed to a terminal," said Joanne Foerster, the director of performance and analytics for Allegheny County.
Each of the additional offices will be staffed by 30 to 40 extra county employees. Those employees at the terminals will then print the mail-in ballot and provide a voter with the secrecy envelope and paper instructions. That voter can then take the ballot home or vote right there.
"Based on the traffic we have seen in the county office building, which we've had this process open all week, we expect more people dropping off ballots than voting," Voye said.
County officials have several locations that will be open on the weekends leading up to Election Day, but not all of them are open each weekend so make sure to check the schedule here.
Inside each office, voters will be required to wear masks and stand on social distance markers. At the end of each day, all completed ballots will be removed from the satellite locations.
"The ballots are going to go to the county office building. We will have a county police escort, and they will be safely locked in the county office building," Voye said.
If you've already applied for a ballot and have not received it, election officials said not to come to the additional offices. You will have to wait for your ballot to come in the mail.
