One Pennsylvania county is not going to use drop packing containers for mail-in ballots on this 12 months’s elections.
County election supervisor Romilda Crocamo mentioned the 4 packing containers used prior to now is not going to be used this 12 months, in response to the Times-Leader.
“Whereas I acknowledge that drop packing containers can present different means for voters to forged their ballots, I need to prioritize the protection and safety of our group within the present political local weather,” Crocamo mentioned.
Crocamo mentioned notices about safety from the Pennsylvania Division of State had been one main motive for the choice.
Visits to the drop field websites strengthened her issues, she mentioned.
In a single location, she mentioned, “the drop field is located in a vestibule with an outer door that continues to be open 24 hours a day. Moreover, there is no such thing as a personnel stationed close by to watch the second entry door that requires a passcode,” Crocamo mentioned.
“This lack of oversight raises vital issues in regards to the potential for unauthorized entry and misuse,” she mentioned.
At one other website, she mentioned, the situation of the drop box left her “significantly involved in regards to the potential for unlawful actions, corresponding to people depositing a number of ballots.”
“Though video surveillance could appear to be an answer, it’s not a foolproof technique of guaranteeing compliance with voting legal guidelines,” Crocamo mentioned.
The opposite two websites, she mentioned, additionally pose safety dangers for the packing containers.
Crocamo mentioned voters can carry their ballots to the depend’s election bureau.
Crocamo additionally mentioned she was involved in regards to the present drop field setup “exposing the county to vital monetary threat within the occasion of any incidents.”
County Council Chairman John Lombardo backed the choice.
“These packing containers pose quite a lot of issues, each associated to security and the potential for fraud,” he mentioned.
Denise Williams, who chairs the county board of elections and helps the idea of drop boxes, mentioned she helps eliminating them, in response to WFMZ-TV.
“I concur with the administration’s place,” Williams mentioned. “In gentle of the safety issues … I perceive the difficulty, for the protection of everybody.”
A minimum of one voter additionally agreed.
“It’s a waste of assets; we now have 186 precincts together with mail-in ballots, which the postal service goes to be overladen with, to have the drop packing containers in place; there actually isn’t a goal for them,” Ronald Knapp of Nanticoke mentioned, in response to WNEP-TV.
This text appeared initially on The Western Journal.
