Yes, We Still Will Have an Election Coming

The worst part of the The Great 2020 COVID-19 Shutdown is that we are living through a historic moment in real time. Decades from now, history books (or tablets, or whatever) will note how it slowly built through a concern to a genuine emergency to the point that schools and businesses began to shut down on Friday the 13th in March, and that it began to end on … Yes, see, that is the problem, we don’t yet see the end. We are living in the day-to-day uncertainty of “when are we going to be able to go back to work, go back to church, to restaurants, to the Y, to whatever?”

Instead of focusing on what we cannot do, we should keep in mind our civic duties which we can do such as completing our census requirement and also fulfilling our obligation to vote. Hopefully, everyone is aware that the Pennsylvania Primary has been postponed to June 2nd. But, like everything else these days, things are not what they were in the not so very recent past. We need to think about June 2nd right now.

First of all, Forrest Lehman, Lycoming County Director of Elections and Registration, strongly encourages everyone to consider voting by mail. Given that the vast majority of poll workers are in the highest risk age category, the fewer voters that physically go to the polls, the better. Pennsylvania Act 77, which was passed last year, enables everyone to be able to submit a mail-in ballot.

In the past, it was necessary to apply for an absentee ballot to vote by mail, and there were restrictions on who qualified for this option. In a logic that is only understood by Pennsylvania lawmakers, it is still possible to apply for an absentee ballot, and be denied, however, ANY registered voted in Pennsylvania can apply for a mail-in and be accepted. (Translation: forget about the absentee ballot, just apply for a mail-in one).

It is incredibly easy. Simply go to the county website, lyco.org, and click on “Departments” and drop down to “Voter Services.” Scroll down to “Information for Voters” and the second item is “Apply for an Absentee Ballot or Mail-In Ballot Online.” Fill out the form, it is very simple and only takes a couple of minutes.

From here, the Voter Services Office will process your application and if you are indeed a registered voter in Lycoming County, they will send you a mail-in ballot. It will come with a special envelope that you need to use when returning the ballot. This is very important! You MUST use this envelope. It has a unique barcode on the envelope which will be scanned when your ballot is received back by the Voter Services Office. If you do not use that envelope, your ballot will not be accepted.

The reason for these controls is to ensure voter security. There has been a lot of rhetoric nationally about voter fraud from both the Democrat and Republican Party, but rest assured area voters, this is not going to happen here! The voter is registered with the Voter Services, and the barcode is matched to that voter. This ensures that the person cannot go to the polls and try to vote again. It also ensures that the person cannot request another mail-in ballot. Further, the actual content of the vote is never identified with the voter.

Another hangup folks have had in the past is the myth that absentee ballots are not counted. Director Leyman is a gentle and meek man, but when this subject comes up, so does his emotional level. In responding to a question at a recent County Commissioners meeting, Forrest Leyman was adamant. “Every single ballot is counted, full stop,” he responded forcefully. He noted that in the past, the Voter Services office counted ballots long into the night because of the absentee ballots. Rest assured, every ballot gets counted in every election.

Now is the time to begin to act on this. The completed application must be received by the county office by 5:00 p.m. on May 26th. The voted ballot must be received by the county election office by 8:00 p.m. on June 2nd. A late application will NOT be accepted, even if it was postmarked before the deadline. So, don’t wait till the last minute. Put down your Webb Weekly, go to your computer or electronic device and log unto lyco.org and get started on receiving your mail-in ballot. If you don’t have internet access, give Voter Services a call at 570-327-2267 or 877-868-3592 for help.