Clarion County Commissioner Wayne Brosius says the county’s election office workers have told him that letters sent to voters with applications for mail-in ballots have caused some confusion.
“The voters were questioning if their regular polling places would be open on Election Day,” said Brosius, who stressed “the polls will be open as usual.”
Voters using a new mail-in ballot will need to follow guidelines established by the state.
Prospective voters can also apply for an absentee ballot, and they will be asked questions to determine whether they qualify for one. Those questions include whether they will be traveling on the Nov. 3 election day or whether they are ill or have a physical disability that prevents them from voting in person.
Voters can also download and print the application and mail it to their county election office, or apply in person.
The mail-in ballots were part of an election reform law signed in October 2019 by Gov. Tom Wolf.
Meanwhile, officials say the county has made changes that should resolve some of the issues experienced in the June primary election.
Unless the COVID social distancing requirements are relaxed, the county may continue with the consolidation of polling places that was done for the primary.
The county used administrative staff members to count the mail-in ballots for the primary. Although some counties employed additional workers on election night, Clarion County began counting the ballots the day after the election.
The county may also transfer the vote tabulation process to the new county property at the former Sorce building in Paint Township. Commissioner Ted Tharan said it isn’t possible to count the ballots in the Clarion County administrative building and respect COVID-19 social distancing requirements.
Tharan said it might even be possible for the pollworkers to drive into the Sorce building, deliver the ballot boxes and leave without having to get out of their car.
“We have plenty of space in that building,” Tharan said of the Sorce building, which has 50,000 square feet of space.