Tabulating mail-in votes in the commonwealth could be changing as early as the upcoming November general election.
Centre County has agreed to new restrictions in tabulating mail-in ballots which are tied to added state funding for the county election office.
The Centre County Elections Board and county commissioners Thursday agreeing to accept a state grant, totaling just over $500,000 a year, for election costs.
It’s part of new legislation aimed at doing away with private funding that was previously used for county election expenses, but the new state funding comes with new rules on counting mail-in ballots, including that counties will be required to begin processing mail-in ballots at 7 o'clock on election day and must continue, without interruption, until the tabulating is complete.
“We are currently looking for a vote by mail coordinator to assist with all those duties. So that is one person we are looking to add with a full-time position in the office.”
Counties have until August 22nd to decide if they want to accept the state funding, with the new mail-in procedures, which will then go into effect for the upcoming November election, but for voters, the change will be barely noticeable.
“They should see no impact except for the time that drop boxes will be available to them.”