The “overwhelming” demand for mail-in-ballots continues in Schuylkill County.

Schuylkill County Election Bureau Director Albert Gricoksi said Thursday 12,033 confirmed mail-in or absentee ballots have been received for the Nov. 3 election as of Sept. 25, the most recent tally available.

“We anticipate several thousand more,” he said, adding some have been received they didn’t get to count.

The June primary resulted in 13,500 mail-in or absentee ballots, Gricoski said.

“We are getting quite a few calls,” he said

Gricoski urged people to visit the Pennsylvania Department of State website, pavoterservices.pa.gov, to check the status of their application or ballot.

Deadline for absentee and mail-in ballots to be sent is 8 p.m. Nov. 3 and received by the respective election offices by 5 p.m. Nov. 6. So far, county voters will have access to one regional drop box at the election headquarters, 420 N. Centre St.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled last month county boards of elections are permitted by the election code to collect mail-in ballots at sites other than the election office. Gricoski said he doesn’t believe additional drop boxes will be placed in the county for security purposes.

Commissioner Barron “Boots” Hetherington said the drop boxes present “another opportunity for a security breach.” He also said Christine Marmas, lead clerk in the elections bureau, said having one box at the office is a good idea.

Commissioner George Halcovage also advocated for the drop box site at the elections office, saying it is better for a security reason to keep it there.

“I haven’t heard any outcries,” Commissioner Gary Hess said Tuesday.

He said having the box at the elections office worked during the primary.

“We would have to find other places to put them,” he said of the boxes.

Gricoski said it is important for voters to place their completed ballot in the security envelope before placing it inside the return envelope. Instructions for returning a ballot are on included with the envelope. More information is available at votespa.com.

“It will be next week that we will be mailing them out,” Gricoski said.

Opening and scanning of mail-in and absentee ballots will start at 7 a.m. Election Day. The county also has letter openers that will speed up the process of mail-in and absentee ballot opening by cutting the top of the return envelope. The security envelope and ballot must be opened by hand, Hess said.

“I’m hoping it goes very well,” he said of the count.

Polls will be open

Voters can still head to the polls to vote Nov. 3. Hours are 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

“The polling places will be open. Go out and vote,” Gricoski said.

There are 125 precincts in the county. If someone who requested a mail-in or absentee ballot wants to vote in person, they should bring their ballot and envelopes with them to their polling place, which they will then surrender. The voter must sign a declaration saying they are surrendering their ballot in front of witnesses.

If they don’t have the ballot with them, they can request a provisional ballot that is returned to the elections office to check if the mail-in or absentee ballot was received. If it was not received, the provisional ballot counts.

Connor Matz, technology coordinator with the elections bureau, said each precinct will a scanner and two machines, a regular voting machine and an ADA compliant one.

The 11 polling rovers will travel throughout the county each with a machine that can be used if one malfunctions.

Poll workers

Gricoski said the office has a list off 600 poll workers they are contacting to confirm interest in working.

A Plexiglas barrier will be between the voter and poll worker when signing in. Hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes are available at each location, Gricoski said.

Voter registration

As of Sept. 25, 85,133 county residents are registered to vote, Gricoski said. Of those, 29,719 are Democrats and 46,495 are Republicans. Third party candidates account for 10,919 registered voters. Republicans have increased their voter registration edge from the primary by 1,487. Democratic registration decreased by 149. Third party registration is up by 272 voters, Gricoski said.