Update on efforts to count mail-in ballots at Northampton Co. election headquarters

Update on efforts to count mail-in ballots at Northampton Co. election headquarters

By Haley O’Brien

June 3, 2020

About 1.8 million Pennsylvanians applied for mail-in ballots for this election, leaving officials with a lot more work than they are used to. WLVR’s Haley O’Brien has the story from Northampton County. 

Many last-minute voters showed up at the Northampton County courthouse to drop their votes in the ballot box.

Rick Canning is one of 43,000 Northampton County residents who requested a mail-in ballot.

“Since the governor had said that the stay at home order was supposed to last until June 4th, I figured we better get a mail-in ballot,” said Canning.

Meanwhile, inside, election workers had been scanning ballots since seven o’clock in the morning yesterday. Dozens gathered in a small room de-enveloping, preparing and scanning, assembly line style. 

This county is used to receiving about a thousand absentee ballots per election, this year, the elections office workload was significantly more, receiving over 40 times as many.