Republican commissioners remove ballot drop box from Westmoreland courthouse

Westmoreland County’s Republican commissioners Wednesday refused to vote on a plan to install one drop box for mail-in ballots at the courthouse.

Commissioners Sean Kertes and Doug Chew said the box that had been in place for years in the courthouse’s lobby and last spring at the rear entrance of the building was underused and costly. Neither supported a proposal from Democratic Commissioner Gina Cerilli Thrasher to continue the program to install one drop box at the courthouse’s rear entrance ahead of the Nov. 8 general election.

“It’s cost-prohibitive for the number of ballots we got,” Chew said.

Westmoreland County placed a series of drop boxes throughout the county before elections in 2020 and 2021 but scaled back their use last spring, when commissioners allowed one receptacle at the courthouse’s back door. Chew said costs attributed to a requirement to have staff on-site to closely monitor the drop boxes ranged from more than $7 to $73 for each ballot deposited at regional locations in 2021.

He did not immediately have a cost estimate for the courthouse location last spring, when 955 mail-in ballots were deposited at the county’s only drop box, according to county election officials. More than 20,000 mail-in ballots were returned in the spring primary.

Elections Bureau Director Greg McCloskey said, as of Wednesday, 28,570 mail-in ballot applications were processed for the November general election. More than 72% of those mail-in ballot applications were from Democratic voters, according to the elections bureau.

“Obviously, I am very disappointed in this decision,” Thrasher said. “We had no issues. There was no evidence, no reason to suspect anything was wrong with that drop box. I just don’t understand why we can’t have that box again, especially because the county has caused all this chaos with the construction.”

Construction of a new underground parking garage has closed Courtyard Square and the main entrance to the courthouse complex since April. It is expected to remain closed at least through November, officials said.

Mail-in ballots still can be returned in person to the elections bureau on the first floor of the courthouse annex.

Commissioners announced two temporary parking spots on the east side of Pennsylvania Avenue will be available starting Oct. 10 through Election Day on Nov. 8 for residents dropping off mail-in ballots at the elections bureau in the courthouse. Westmoreland County Park Police Chief Henry Fontana said one will be designated as a handicapped parking spot, and drivers will be required to use their vehicle’s flashers while they walk through security and travel two floors upstairs to the elections office with their ballot.

Oct. 25 through Nov. 7, the elections bureau will be open extended hours, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends.

The county’s Republican commissioners said the extra hours of operation and parking accommodation are sufficient to ensure voters have an opportunity to return ballots to the courthouse.

“It’s a mail-in ballot. We are providing postage for the ballots, and we are providing parking for the residents,” Kertes said.

A group of a nearly two dozen people, including many who wore buttons promoting Republican gubernatorial candidate state Sen. Doug Mastriano, attended Wednesday’s elections board meeting and backed the decision to eliminate mail-in ballot drop boxes.

“It’s called a mail-in ballot. Why are we even talking about drop boxes? They have too much room for error,” said Beth Tyson, a GOP committee member from Delmont.

Michelle McFall, chairwoman for the county’s Democratic Committee, blasted the commissioners decision as partisan.

“A majority of people who vote by mail in Westmoreland County are Democratic voters. This is not acceptable,” McFall said.

Meanwhile, county elections officials are expected to complete the final testing of voting machines this week and are preparing to mail ballots to voters by Oct. 7, McCloskey said.