Channel 11 goes inside Allegheny County elections warehouse where some votes will be counted

PITTSBURGH — Channel 11 took a tour of the elections warehouse in the city of Pittsburgh where all of the Allegheny County absentee and mail-in ballots will be counted on Election Day.

Workers will use an automated envelope opener to open each ballot. Then they will prep the votes which will be scanned in new machines.

Elections officials hope to have all the absentee and mail-in ballots they’ve already received counted by the time the polls close. So far, they’ve received 188,000 ballots out of the 280,000 that were sent out.

The deadline for any outstanding ballots to be received is 8 p.m. Tuesday June 9. Gov. Wolf issued the extension on June 1 only for Allegheny County in our region.

For anyone who didn’t vote by absentee or mail-in ballot, polls open at 7 a.m. Allegheny County consolidated polling places for the primary due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

With recent protests in the area following the death of George Lloyd in Minneapolis, Channel 11 asked what’s being done to ensure polling locations are safe.

“The Department of State is closely in touch with PEMA as well as our state and federal election security partners as well as the counties that are impacted,” said Kathy Boockvar, Pennsylvania’s secretary of state.

The Allegheny County Sheriff’s Department also said deputies will be on patrol tomorrow and they’re prepared to adjust resources, as needed, should problems arise.

Channel 11 will have complete Election Day coverage on television and at www.wpxi.com including updated results once polls close.

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