Mail In Ballot Applications Were Supposed to Go Out Yesterday. They’ll Be Late.

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Image via Tiffany Tertipes on Unsplash.

Apparently, under Pennsylvania’s relatively new vote-by-mail law, voters have the option to be added to a permanent list so they can automatically receive mail ballot applications each year, writes Jonathan Lai for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Here’s the problem. The applications were supposed to go out by the first Monday in February.

That was yesterday.

Election officials have never done this before and several counties, including Delaware County, have been caught off guard with the extra mailing requirement.

Delaware County Councilwoman Christine Reuther, who works with the county election bureau, was clear on the situation.

“Oh, that’s not going to happen in Delaware County,” she said.

Lawsuits filed since the election, along with associated demands for documents and data, have put the county behind in other time-sensitive tasks, she said, adding that the permanent list mailing was “another unfunded mandate from the state in terms of staff time and printing and mailing costs.”

A Department of State spokesperson said “the first year of any new provision is always the most challenging.” Voters should visit the department’s website for more information.

Read more about the voter application mailing requirement at The Philadelphia Inquirer.  

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