Clarion County’s Election Board and several county employees spent Wednesday going through mail-in ballots that were cast in Tuesday’s primary election.
“We started last night (Tuesday) with the ballots and worked until 10:30,” county commissioner and Election Board member Ted Tharan said. “We have no idea when we will be done.”
The mail-in ballots had to be verified with the records at each precinct to be certain no one voted twice. The ballots can’t be tabulated until they are verified.
“The numbers reported on the Pennsylvania Department of State website only show the results of the votes cast at the precincts,” Election Board member and commissioner Ed Heasley said.
Cindy Callihan, the county’s director of elections, said the county received 3,500 mail-in and absentee ballots.
This was also the first time the county had used the new voting machines.
“There were a few minor problems,” said Brosius. “Overall it went very well.”
In addition to the 3,500 mail-in ballots, 5,383 residents voted at the polls, making a total of 8,883 registered voters who cast ballots. That is 38.2 percent of the county’s 23,239 registered voters.
The voter turnout is expected to be higher for the presidential election in November.
“We have no idea what will happen in the general election this fall,” said Brosius.