Elections Officials Remind Public of Ballot Rules

County says South Park video was deceptive, misleading

By Staff Reports
The Tube City Almanac
October 31, 2024
Posted in: Politics & Elections, State & Region

Ahead of Tuesday’s election, Pennsylvania has become ground-zero for election conspiracy theories, experts said, and they are warning the public not to be fooled.

Allegheny County has been the target of one hoax already, and officials with the Elections Bureau have already attempted to debunk social media rumors after a video circulated of an absentee ballot drop-off location in South Park.

County officials said no illegal activity occured at the South Park drop-off facility, located at the county-owned ice rink on Corrigan Drive. The county elections bureau has opened temporary satellite offices at nine locations, including in Duquesne, Squirrel Hill and six other neighborhoods.

Ballots also may be given to a county worker at the county office building in downtown Pittsburgh.

“We strongly encourage voters who are still holding on to their mail-in ballots to use one of our 10 ballot return sites across the county,” Allegheny County Elections Division Manager Dave Voye said. “If we receive a ballot after 8 pm on Election Day, even if it is postmarked Election Day or earlier, we cannot accept it.”

The Washington Post and Wall Street Journal reported this week that former President Trump, seeking a return to the White House, has amplified false and misleading claims about several Pennsylvania counties, including Lancaster, where the Republican candidate alleged that officials have “already started cheating.”

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat who has campaigned for that party’s nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, pushed back on Trump’s claims.

“Let’s remember, in 2020, Donald Trump attacked our elections over and over,” Shapiro said in a statement. “He’s now trying to use the same playbook to stoke chaos, but hear me on this: we will again have a free and fair, safe and secure election — and the will of the people will be respected.”

Voters who request absentee or mail-in ballots may return them using the U.S. Mail, or may give them to a county official at an authorized drop-off location. Except in rare cases, state law does not allow anyone to return someone else’s absentee ballot, an activity called “ballot harvesting.”

One of the rare exceptions is that a disabled person who is unable to get to a ballot drop-off box may fill out a “Designated Agent Form” and send it with the person handling it.

A video circulated this week on social media claimed that “foreigners” were allowed to cut in line in front of other voters at the South Park ballot drop-box station.

The claims are false, Allegheny County elections officials said this week.

A county spokesperson said that a group of voters came to the South Park satellite election office on Saturday to apply for mail-in ballots and needed the assistance of a translator.

The county employee provided instructions that elderly and disabled people are allowed to sit while they wait for their applications to be processed, the spokesperson said.

County officials allow any elderly or disabled voter to sit while the applications were completed, the county said. The able-bodied persons then returned to the back of the line to wait their turn.

Persons who need a translator are able to use a translator, the county said. State law does not allow persons who are not American citizens to vote and only U.S. citizens may register to vote.

The deadline to register to vote was Oct. 21, the county spokesperson added, which means “any individual who requested a mail-in ballot this past weekend only would have been given a ballot if they were already registered.”

The 10 ballot return sites will remain open through Nov. 4. In addition to the South Park ice rink, locations include:

The hours of the above locations are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends through Nov. 4.

Voters who send or drop-off an absentee ballot may not vote in person at their neighborhood polling place, state officials have warned.

However, Allegheny County officials said voters who requested an absentee ballot, but did not return it, should bring it to their poling place and ask to vote in person instead. This process is known as “spoiling a ballot.”

Voters who are not in possession of their mail-in ballot and have not had confirmation that their mail-in ballot was received by the Elections Division should ask to cast a provisional ballot, the county said.

The United States Postal Service earlier this week suggested that all ballots be in the mail back to the County Elections Division by Oct. 29.

The County Office Building on Ross Street in downtown Pittsburgh also will be open for voters returning their mail-in ballots, a spokesperson said. The lane on Ross Street closest to the building is available for people to temporarily park and return their ballot.

The County Office Building hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends, and 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day.

Originally published October 31, 2024.

In other news:
"Clinton Responds to Q…" ||