Westmoreland County commissioners on Thursday selected a Blair County company to handle printing and sending its mail-in ballots for the spring primary.

Elections director JoAnn Sebastiani said she checked with officials in six regional counties that used NPC, Inc. during the general election and got a good response about the company’s work.

“We’re looking forward to working with a new vote-by-mail vendor,” she said.

NPC will handle printing the ballot, instructions and envelopes and then mail the set to county voters who choose the option for the May 18 primary election. The county received proposals from seven companies, including Cleveland-based Midwest Direct Presort Mailing that was the site of production delays during the November election that impacted thousands of local voters.

Sebastiani and the commissioners said they were happy to go with a reputable Pennsylvania company within driving distance for the election that will feature hundreds of local races. The spring municipal primary typically sees a 20% voter turnout.

In 2020, there were 40,000 mail-in and absentee ballots prepared and sent out by county staff for the primary. Midwest Direct handled twice as many for the general election, Sebastiani said. Elections officials last month sent letters to nearly 55,000 county voters who in 2020 requested to permanently receive mail-in and absentee ballots. Voters can opt out of the program for all upcoming elections or ask to receive mail-in ballots for just the primary.

So far, about half have indicated they want to be permanently placed on the mail-in ballot list, Sebastiani said.

NPC will be paid between $1.11 and $1.15 for each ballot plus postage based on total volume and whether the print is in color or not. NPC is family-owned firm that specializes in print, web and mobile communication, according to its website.

Voters can apply for mail-in ballots at the county courthouse, online at pavoterservices.pa.gov or by answering correspondence from the bureau, if they’ve received it.

Solicitor Melissa Guiddy said Midwest Direct gave the county a $2,500 discount and their bills have been paid. The company was hired in September to handle mail-in ballots for the general election. Thousands of ballots were delayed in October after the company said it experienced equipment failures and personnel shortages.

“No excuse needed” mail-in voting was used for the first time in 2020 in Pennsylvania.

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