Montgomery County voters in the Whitemarsh area can drop off mail-in ballots at a secure box steps from home.
The Montgomery County Office of Voter Services opened 18 secure ballot drop boxes across the county on Monday, Sept. 21, including one at the Whitemarsh Magisterial District Court, 4002 Center Ave., Lafayette Hill. The boxes are available around the clock, seven days a week, until polls close at 8 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 3, according to the county's voter services page.
The one exception: the drop box inside One Montgomery Plaza in Norristown, which keeps limited hours.
About 85,000 mail-in ballots went out to voters the week of Sept. 21, as reported by the Times Herald. Each ballot included a flyer listing drop box locations. The county has 624,811 registered voters.
All locations are monitored by CCTV, and county security collects ballots daily, according to the county's voter services page.
Neil Makhija, vice chairman of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners and chair of the election board, has championed the drop boxes as a secure alternative to the U.S. Postal Service. At a Sept. 18 election board meeting, Makhija said voters tell him they do not trust the mail system and want to deliver ballots directly.
"Drop boxes are the easiest way to do that … to have drop boxes within five minutes of most people is a great convenience," Makhija said at the meeting, as reported by the Mainline Media News.
Mobile van coming to Blue Bell
Montgomery County's Mobile Outreach Van will visit Montgomery County Community College's Blue Bell campus on Thursday, Oct. 1, to help voters with registration and ballot questions, according to a county spokesperson quoted in the Times Herald.
Key dates for voters
Voter Services will also operate satellite offices from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on four weekends: Oct. 17, Oct. 18, Oct. 24 and Oct. 25. The five satellite locations include sites in Lansdale, Narberth, Norristown, Pottstown and Willow Grove.
Other deadlines to know:
- Oct. 19 — Last day to register to vote
- Oct. 27 by 5 p.m. — Last day to apply for a mail-in ballot
- Nov. 3, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. — Election Day; all mail-in ballots must be returned by 8 p.m.
Before using a drop box, voters must seal their completed ballot inside the secrecy envelope. Then place that sealed envelope inside the official return envelope and sign and date the voter's declaration on the back. Ballots missing either envelope cannot be counted under Pennsylvania law.
Only the voter may return their own ballot. Voters with an illness or disability may designate an agent using a form available at a Voter Services office.
The Voter Services office is on the sixth floor of One Montgomery Plaza, 425 Swede St., Norristown, and is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The phone number is 610-278-3280.
