Luzerne County Election Board Chairwoman Denise Williams said she agrees with the state’s redesign of mail ballot materials, which was announced Wednesday.
“I think the changes being implemented are really needed,” Williams said.
The Pennsylvania Department of State is updating mail ballot materials to institute more uniformity across the state’s 67 counties and “reduce voter errors and confusion,” a release said.
“Thousands of mail ballots are rejected in each election due to minor voter errors, like so-called ‘naked ballots,’ voters writing their birthdate instead of the current date or voters forgetting to sign their ballot,” the release said.
Voters should expect to see mail ballots that incorporate the following requirements, based on counties’ current best practices, the release said:
• Coloring to make it easier for voters to distinguish the inner secrecy envelope and outer return envelope. The colorized outer envelopes also will help post office employees expediently identify and deliver mail ballots that must be in county election offices by 8 p.m. on election night.
• Standardized full-page instructions with helpful graphics to depict the order of envelope placement.
• Watermarking to discourage stray marks on secrecy envelopes, which cannot have any markings that identify the voter.
• Pre-filling of “20” on the outer envelope date line for the first two digits of the year to alert voters they are supposed to write the current date and not their birthdate in that field.
• Coloring on the outer return envelope to highlight fields the voter must complete, including the signature and date.
• Uniform blue ink on outgoing mail ballots.
Counties will also have discretion to implement the use of a hole punch in the return envelope to help county election workers identify when an inner secrecy envelope is missing, the release said.
County Manager Romilda Crocamo said the election bureau is reviewing the changes announced by the state.
While she welcomes the state’s efforts to make the ballots more uniform and efficient, Crocamo said the county must examine what accommodations would be necessary to carry out the changes. For example, she said the county would have to secure an outside ballot printing vendor equipped to complete the Department of State’s directives and determine if there is a cost increase as a result.
Williams said she sent an email to the county law office seeking an opinion on whether the election board must be involved in any decisions related to the changes.
Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt said the redesigned mail ballot materials will be rolled out in the 2024 primary election.
“Governor (Josh) Shapiro has made it clear that the Commonwealth should help people succeed, not get in their way,” Schmidt said in the release.
The state worked with counties, vendors, and the Center for Civic Design to develop the new mail ballot materials, Schmidt said.