JEFFERSON CO., Pa. (EYT) – Most local officials in our area were optimistic on Tuesday afternoon regarding how long it may take to count the record number of mail-in ballots for this election.
While concerns over how long it may take to count the record number of mail-in ballots for this election plague some more populated parts of Pennsylvania, most local officials in our area were optimistic on Tuesday afternoon.
(Photos by Dave Cyphert of ProPoint Media Photography)
“Everything is going really well,” Jefferson County Commissioners Jeff Pisarcik told exploreJeffersonPA.com on Tuesday afternoon.
Pisarcik noted that as of around 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, they were getting closing to having processed all of the mail-in ballots they had received so far and expected to have all of them complete by around 4:00 p.m.
“Unless something breaks, we’ll be fine,” Pisarcik said.
He estimated the county had received around 4,000 mail-in ballots, and would probably receive at least a few more through the day.
“We have cameras out there (at the dropbox), and I’d say we’ve had about a dozen dropped off since 9 a.m. today.”
He noted that like any Election Day, things were very busy in the county offices.
“It’s just crazy and the phones are non-stop. It’s just a sight to see. Thank god we have them (the election officials) because they’ve done a great job here.”
Despite the business of the day, Pisarcik said things were running smoothly, and they hadn’t received word of any major issues or complications.
“We still have a few people trying to vote who never registered, but that is normal. Other than that, we just have a lot of the normal questions about where to go to vote and things like that.”
Pisarcik also noted that while they didn’t have specifics yet, they had received word that voter turnout was very good in most of the precincts in Jefferson County.
High turnouts and optimism were reported in Clarion County on Tuesday, as well.
“We’re in our pre-canvass stage now, opening envelopes at this point,” Cindy Callahan, Director of Elections for Clarion County told exploreClarion.com on Tuesday afternoon.
“We’ll continue through the evening with that. We don’t really know how long it will take. It’s hard to tell because this is a first for us, to be doing this on Election Day.”
While Callahan didn’t have an estimation of how long the process may take locally, she remained optimistic that it would not be a problem.
“We’re just moving along doing what we have to do.”
Callahan noted the Clarion election office was extremely busy on Tuesday, answering calls and making sure the process was running smoothly across the county.
“You get a lot of the same things, people going to the wrong polling place or calling to double-check where they’re registered.”
According to Callahan, while busy, the day was going smoothly, with very few hitches beyond a few jammed ballots that were resolved quickly.
“Things are just moving along.”
Callahan also noted that they had received reports from multiple precincts about lines out the doors.
“That’s a good sign our percentage (of voters) may be up. It sounds like there was a lot of interest,” Callahan said.
“We just need the voters to have patience with the process because this is a new process for us and for the voters, and we all have to have patience with each other. Our phones have been tied up a lot, but we’re doing our best to get back to people and answer questions as quickly as we can. We just need people to bear with us and have patience.”
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