Day of decision arrives

By JEFF STITT and
 TAYLOR BROWN

jstitt@yourmvi.com
tbrown@yourmvi.com

A deeply contentious, divided election season has led to this point: Election Day 2020.

The national conversation has voters wondering what Election Day procedures, operations and security at the polls will look like this year amid a pandemic and the surge in popularity of mail-in voting.

On Monday, Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar reassured Pennsylvania voters who applied for but haven’t received mail-in ballots that they can vote by provisional ballot at their polling place today.

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voters can find their polling place at votesPA.com.

Voters who received but haven’t returned their mail ballot should hand-deliver it to their county election office, satellite election office or other designated drop-off location, Boockvar said. 

Marked mail-in ballots will not be accepted at polling places.

Voters must enclose their mail ballot first in the white inner secrecy envelope and seal it, then insert the inner envelope into the outer pre-printed return envelope, and sign and complete the voter’s declaration on the outer envelope for their ballot to be counted.

Voters may only return their own ballots. The only exceptions are for voters with a disability who have designated someone in writing to deliver their ballot or for voters who need an emergency absentee ballot.

Voters who applied for and received a mail-in ballot but decided to vote at the polls on Election Day can change their mind, but they should bring the mail-in or absentee ballot and the outer ballot envelopes to be voided by the poll worker.

If a voter applied for a mail-in ballot but did not return it and doesn’t bring the mail-in ballot and envelopes with them, they can still vote by provisional ballot at the polls on Election Day. Their county board of elections will then verify that they did not vote by mail before counting their provisional ballot.

As cases of COVID-19 continue to rise, Boockvar and Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said voters who are currently positive for the coronavirus and have to self-quarantine can still make sure their voices are heard.  

To read the rest of the story, please see a copy of Tuesday’s Mon Valley Independent, call 724-314-0035 to subscribe or subscribe to our online edition at http://monvalleyindependent.com.