Westmoreland County has sent out the first batch of more than 14,000 mail-in ballots to voters, the election bureau director said Friday.
“Our goal was to get them in the mail (Friday), and, starting today, people should start receiving them in their mailboxes,” Greg McCloskey said.
As of Friday, Westmoreland County had processed more than 30,000 mail-in ballot applications for the Nov. 8 general election.
McCloskey said it is expected that as many as 35,000 voters in the county will request mail-in ballots for the upcoming election.
The deadline to apply for mail-in or absentee ballots is Nov. 1. Ballots must be returned to the courthouse no later than 8 p.m. on Election Day.
More than 20,000 mail-in ballots were returned in the spring primary, and officials said it is expected that number will significantly increase this fall.
Additional ballots will be mailed out throughout the month, McCloskey said.
The county’s two Republican commissioners last month rejected a plan to install one drop box at the entrance of the courthouse for voters to return ballots. Ballots can be returned in person to the election bureau on the first floor of the courthouse.
Starting Tuesday, two short-time parking spots on Pennsylvania Avenue, near the courthouse’s rear entrance, will be available for use by those returning ballots.
The election bureau will remain open for extended hours, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends, starting Oct. 25.
The county received nearly 60,000 mail-in ballots in the 2020 presidential election, the first general election in which no-excuse mail-in ballots were used in Pennsylvania. It took more than three days to complete counting of those ballots.
McCloskey said the county finished counting mail-in ballots submitted in the May primary by about 8 p.m. on election night. He said he expects counting of mail-in ballots this fall to be completed within hours after polls close.
The deadline to register to vote in this fall’s election is Oct. 24.
