Officials in the counties on Pittsburgh’s outskirts say they’ve recruited enough poll workers, gathered enough sanitary equipment and mostly conquered the bins and bins of mail-in and absentee ballot applications that had streamed into their offices ahead of the June 2 primary election.
Now, only six days remain until the elections offices in Beaver, Butler, Washington, Westmoreland and Fayette counties can see the results of their monthslong effort to disease-proof the contests in the face of COVID-19.
The offices were still busy Tuesday as staffers worked to finish the final batches of applications that came in before the state’s deadline, eager to put an end to processing an influx of requests that Pennsylvania’s top election official deemed “off the charts” last week.
It was so hectic Tuesday that election officials in Beaver and Westmoreland, both reached by phone, could only spare five minutes — and not a minute more — to talk about the state of their election preparations. Trays of mail and conference calls awaited them, they said.
What they did describe — like others — was confidence in their efforts. They’ve recruited the workers, corralled the hand sanitizer and processed most of the paperwork — facets of mid-pandemic election administration that have levied a greater burden on more populous counties with bigger voter registration rolls.
Though the applications kept streaming into her office on Tuesday, Dorene Mandity, director of Beaver County’s elections bureau, said they had processed more than 20,000 so far, a task that has required 12-hour days, five days a week, with an additional Saturday shift and help from two part-time workers.
Washington County, too, had to hire eight temporary employees and recruit help from other county departments to process and mail ballots, while in Butler, the office employed nine seasonal workers and used a lot of overtime.
“It’s difficult because of the sheer volume of applications coming in, but we’re trying to stick to a 48-hour turnaround for each one,” said Larry Blosser, Fayette’s elections director.
Meanwhile, officials have had to ensure that voters who do want to cast their ballots in-person on Election Day are safe to do so, and know exactly where to go and how to prepare.
Like others, Westmoreland County is going to maintain social distancing at its polling locations, and poll workers will be instructed to allow no more than 25 people in one precinct at one time — including themselves, said Scott Sistek, a county elections official. The workers there will be given packs of sanitary equipment, though the county is waiting on them from the state, Mr. Sistek added.
Mr. Sistek said voters will also be given Q-tips to use on screens so they don’t have to touch the machines, a precaution officials were pointed to during the special election they held March 17.
In Fayette County, equipment will be sanitized between uses, and signs will be placed indoors and outdoors with instructions. Though the state issued them 50 poll kits with protective supplies, county officials purchased 40 more.
Community members, too, donated extra masks, and the county’s emergency management agency supplied extra hand sanitizer and face shields.
“We can’t force people to wear a mask, which is what a lot of our election judges are having issues with,” Mr. Blosser said. “It’s not a state requirement.”
Information provided by the county said if anyone is showing signs of illness or coughing heavily at the polls, they may be asked to put on a mask as a precaution, though it won’t be required.
The five counties mostly will be able to field a full slate of poll workers, officials said. Butler has a sufficient number. Fayette is at 95 percent capacity. Washington is “making every attempt” to do so, elections director Melanie Ostrander said late last week.
In Westmoreland, the situation has improved. The county put out a call on social media last week saying it had a “critical” need for poll workers, urging residents to apply online. That call was “very, very well received,” Mr. Sistek said Tuesday, and now, it’s a matter of contacting all of the people who volunteered.
Some polling places in Beaver may have four staffers instead of five.
“Right now I’m okay, but every day, you wait for the phone to ring and somebody can’t work or [changes their] mind,” Ms. Mandity said.
The counties also have had to prepare for counting the votes in a timely manner — a task that Pennsylvania’s Secretary of the Commonwealth warned could be tough on the night of the election given the volume of mail-in ballots. For this election, they can begin counting the mail-in and absentee ballots at 8 a.m. instead of having to wait until polls close at 8 p.m.
“We’ll hopefully have our results right on schedule, as usual, but it’s definitely going to be a late night,” Mr. Blosser said.
Mr. Sistek, in Westmoreland, said he thinks he has enough staff to handle it, and that since absentee ballots won’t be opened at the polls, workers will be able to deliver the results to the county headquarters more quickly. Then, it will just be a matter of accumulating the data.
Beaver County will not be counting absentee or mail-in ballots until the Wednesday after the election, Ms. Mandity said. The room the county uses is where officials receive returns, unused ballots and voted ballots, she said, which will be “chaotic all night long.”
“I also can’t be in that room opening ballots and trying to count them,” Ms. Mandity said. “It wouldn’t be secure. It’s the best thing for us to wait until the next day when deliveries are all done and the only thing in that room is me and the ballots.”
Julian Routh: jrouth@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1952, Twitter @julianrouth.
First Published: May 26, 2020, 10:58 p.m.
