A delay in sending out thousands of mail-in ballots in Westmoreland County has caused some voter concerns, but officials say there’s still plenty of time to get those ballots back.
Scott Ross, director of elections in Westmoreland County, says there’s no need to worry.
There is still more than enough time to mail in your votes.
“They want their vote to count, and they are afraid their vote won’t count for some reason. If your vote gets here on time, we do everything possible to make sure your vote counts,” said Ross.
According to Ross, NPC Inc. in Blair County was delayed by a few days in shipping out over 28,000 mail-in ballots.
“In the past, they’ve probably taken a little less time to send them out, but this time they took a few extra days, and that caused some concerns for people, but there should be plenty of time for them to get their ballots back,” Ross said.
As of Oct. 12, 33,000 mail-in ballots were sent out. As of Tuesday night, around 12,500 of them have already been returned.
Voters need to have their mail-in ballots arrive at the election office by Nov. 3. Ross says voters still have around a week and a half to send them through the mail, or can bring them to the office in person.
“They have until Nov. 3 at 8 p.m. to get it here and make it count. I recommend you get it, you fill it out, you put it back in the mail and send it back to us,” Ross said.
The deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot is Oct. 27. Ross says there is no law in Westmoreland County mandating when mail-in ballots need to be sent out, and this delay does not concern them.
“You have time. Don’t fret. Put it in the mail,” Ross said.
There is still time to have a ballot canceled and replaced.
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