Mail-in voting proving popular in areas hardest hit by coronavirus

A lot of Pennsylvanians plan to vote by mail in the postponed spring primary.

State officials said Wednesday that applications to vote by mail have topped 129,000.

State lawmakers voted to move the primary to June 2, a postponement expected to be approved by Gov. Tom Wolf. The five-week delay comes as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic restricts many voters to their homes indefinitely.

The option to vote by mail was approved last year and and augments the existing absentee balloting system that permits voters who are out of town to cast ballots prior to Election Day.

According to the Department of State, Pennsylvania counties hit hardest by the coronavirus submitted the largest numbers of mail-in and absentee voting applications.

Locally, Allegheny County received applications from 9,374 registered voters.

Westmoreland County received more than 4,000 applications — 2,000 in just the last two weeks.

County staffers spent Wednesday processing dozens of applications.

“We’re still having a hard time keeping up with all the applications,” Lechman said.

State officials previously reported that 20,000 mail in ballot applications had been requested by Pennsylvania voters through the end of February.

Voters aren’t expected to receive ballots for at least several weeks, officials said.