Absentee ballot deadline approaching
The Washington County commissioners, convening briefly Thursday as the county election board, unanimously agreed to move forward with a court petition to reduce 16 voting precincts to eight.
The state Election Code requires this action to be handled through the court, which then sets a hearing date. The elections office hopes to receive a stamp of approval for the changes before the May 2015 primary.
The commissioners who voted Thursday – Chairman Larry Maggi, Vice Chairwoman Diana Irey Vaughan and Harlan Shober – are all potential candidates next year when commissioner, district attorney and the majority of county row offices appear on ballots also listing municipal and school board races.
The proposal crafted by the Washington County elections office seeks to consolidate precincts in Bentleyville, East Finley Township, East Washington, North Bethlehem Township and North Charleroi and in two precincts apiece in the multiprecinct Chartiers Township, Charleroi Borough and Washington’s 7th Ward before the 2015 primary election.
The motive behind the change is to reduce the cost of deploying duplicate election boards, the number of people needed to fill them, the number of voting machines in service and the cost to the taxpayer.
In Bentleyville, East Washington, North Bethlehem and North Charleroi, voters already report to the same building, as do the voters in Washington’s 7-2 and 7-4 precincts and Chartiers Township’s precincts 2 and 4.
There are currently 184 voting precincts in Washington County, down from 205.
For the upcoming Nov. 4 general election, residents who need an absentee ballot must apply before 5 p.m. Oct. 28.
This type of ballot is available to registered voters who will be absent from their municipality on election day or those who cannot reach the polls due to an illness or physical disability.
As of Wednesday morning, the Washington County elections office received 901 requests for absentee ballots.
Applications may be requested through the mail or in person at the Washington County elections office, Courthouse Square office building, 100 W. Beau St., Suite 206, Washington, Pa. 15301.
Eligible voters may also obtain an application by visiting www.votespa.com, calling the county elections office at 724-228-6750 or visiting the website www.co.washington.pa.us and clicking on “voter information” and “absentee voting” to reach the VotesPA website.
Registered voters are encouraged to request their absentee ballot applications as soon as possible. Applications must be completed and returned to the elections office no later than 5 p.m. Oct. 28. Registered voters may also visit the elections office and complete an application by Oct. 28. If properly registered, voters will be handed an absentee ballot to vote on the spot, which only takes a few minutes.
Those planning to vote by absentee ballot will be required to provide a Pennsylvania driver’s license number, state Department of Transportation identification number or the last four digits of a Social Security number, or the ballot will not be counted. An absentee ballot will be mailed to the applicant.
If an absentee fails to include this information, the elections office will notify the voter, but time can run short.
The completed absentee ballot must be in the hands of the elections office no later than 5 p.m. Oct. 31, not simply postmarked by that date.