Westmoreland mail-in ballots on their way to voters; drop boxes to be available

Westmoreland County officials said mailing out the first batch of 50,000 mail-in ballots was completed Tuesday as elections staff and the Ohio-based private company hired to oversee the process catch up after technical problems caused a weeklong delay.

So far, about 60,000 mail-in ballot applications have been approved in the county. Work to get the remaining ballots in the mail is ongoing.

That update came at the conclusion of a meeting of the county elections board in which commissioners, who make up the panel, announced that at least four and as many as six drop-off boxes will be installed throughout the county to allow voters more locations to turn in their mail-in ballots.

Details such as the locations of those drop boxes and the hours in which they will be available will be announced Thursday.

The county is paying Midwest Presort Mailing Services of Cleveland up to $170,000 to send ballots to Westmoreland voters once applications are processed and approved by the local Elections Bureau. Officials said it initially forwarded to the company information for the first 50,000 ballots Oct. 3. It wasn’t until Friday, Oct. 9 that the first ballots were mailed.

“There was a printer issue, multiple issues,” said county Elections Bureau Director JoAnn Sebastiani, who said mail-in ballots from other counties in Pennsylvania and Ohio likely were delayed because of those issues.

“Thank goodness our ballots were close to going out.”

Voters can apply for mail-in ballots through Oct. 27. To be counted, ballots have to by postmarked by Election Day on Nov. 3 and arrive at the courthouse by Nov. 6.

Commissioners approved placement of a drop box inside the front door of the courthouse in Greensburg, which was done in the spring primary.

That drop box will be installed this week. Ballots also can be dropped off at the Elections Bureau weekdays starting at 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Mondays and Fridays. Those hours are extended to 7 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays through the Nov. 3 election.

Commissioner Sean Kertes said officials are reviewing potential locations for additional drop box sites and protocols to ensure there will be proper security and staff on hand.

“We’ve always been open to doing this,” Kertes said. “It’s just the issue of trying to make sure we have the locations and the staffing, so we are working toward this right now.”

Commissioners said additional drop boxes will be strategically located on county-owned properties to serve all 1,028 square miles of the county.

Commissioner Gina Cerilli said the additional drop boxes won’t operate daily and only during specific hours.

“When you look at the 10-county region here in Southwestern Pennsylvania, the only county that has additional drop boxes right now is Allegheny County, and they are on designated days,” Cerilli said.

Members of the nonpartisan grassroots group, Voice of Westmoreland, on Tuesday gave commissioners a petition with more than 1,000 signatures asking for six drop boxes to be located in Monessen, New Kensington, Latrobe, Ligonier, Mt. Pleasant and Rostraver.