Campaign signs outside a house in Harrisburg
Dauphin County is extending office hours for its elections office and disseminating other information as officials expect a flood of mail-in ballots.
The county commissioners today said that they were making adjustments as they gear up for general election voting. These include:
- Starting Oct. 6, extending weekday office hours from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the county Administration Building in downtown Harrisburg for voters to pick up or return forms and ballots.
- Starting Oct. 6, designating the Northern Dauphin Human Services Center in Elizabethville as a ballot return site, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Commissioner Mike Pries also said today that residents soon will begin receiving their mail-in ballots.
“County elections staff has been working diligently to process ballot requests as they come in,” said Pries, who chairs the county’s Elections Board. “Voters who requested ballots before the end of September can expect to see their ballots in the mail over the next several days.”
As of Sept. 29, the elections office processed 50,993 applications for absentee and mail-in ballots—32,208 Democratic and 13,304 Republican.
“We are focusing on meeting the needs of voters and ensuring that every vote is counted,” said Commissioner George Hartwick. “Leading up to the election, we plan to increase staffing and potentially extend hours at the Ballot Return Sites to help process the 80,000-plus ballots that we anticipate coming in.”
Board Chairman Jeff Haste said that additional staffing and equipment has increased the cost of conducting the election, which will cost about $750,000 more to run than in the off-year election of 2019. Some of that extra cost is being offset by state and federal funds, including $130,000 in a CARES grant and $150,000 in federal funding for ballot security, according to the county.
The commissioners today also reminded voters of the following deadlines:
-
- The last day to register to vote is Oct. 19.
- The last day to request a mail-in or absentee ballot is Oct. 27.
- Deadlines for returning a mail-in or civilian absentee ballot:
-
- By mail: must be postmarked by 8 p.m. on Nov. 3, Election Day.
- In-person: must be returned to your county board of elections office or other designated location by 8 p.m. on Nov. 3, Election Day.
-
The Dauphin County Administration Building is located at 2 S. 2nd St., Harrisburg. For more information, visit DauphinCounty.org and click on “What Voters Need to Know” or call 717-780-6360.
Support quality community journalism. Join Friends of TheBurg today!
