No changes expected to mail-in ballots

By JULIA BURDELSKI
TribLive

Allegheny County officials are expecting to send mail-in ballots for the upcoming general election in the beginning of October, officials said.

David Voye, manager of the county’s Division of Elections, said there are no major changes expected for mail-in ballots. Officials are beginning ballot preparations this week, he told the Board of Elections on Monday, ahead of the Nov. 4 election.

“We are on schedule to start mailing ballots the first week of October, which is really where we want to be, you know, 30 days prior,” Voye said.

There will not be any significant changes to the mail-in ballot materials, he said.

So far, the county has processed about 117,000 applications for mail-in ballots, Voye said. About 86,000 of the voters who requested mail-in ballots are Democrats, and about 20,000 are Republicans.

This comes as President Donald Trump has railed against mail-in voting, even though nearly one in five Pennsylvanians who voted him back to the White House last year cast their ballots by mail.

In a Truth Social post this month, Trump wrote, “THE MAIL-IN BALLOT HOAX (AND) USING VOTING MACHINES THAT ARE A COMPLETE AND TOTAL DISASTER, MUST END, NOW!!!”

The president has also said he wants to eliminate voting machines he classified as inaccurate, expensive and controversial. Trump repeated the claims he made after losing his 2020 reelection bid of widespread cheating and fraud among Democrats.

Allegheny County officials Monday paused a proposal to reduce hours for satellite voting locations. But officials said satellite voting and ballot drop-offs will be available throughout the county before the election.

Officials are still hammering out final details regarding plans for satellite voting and ballot drop-offs.

Pittsburgh voters in the upcoming election will select a new mayor after incumbent Mayor Ed Gainey was ousted in the May primary. Voters also will vote for judges, county sheriff and, in some areas, City Council, County Council or school board representatives.