PA Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar Casts Ballot In Doylestown

DOYLESTOWN, PA — Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar arrived at the Bucks County Elections Office Friday morning to cast her ballot in the November election and shine a spotlight on a new option available to Pennsylvania voters this year: Early in person voting by mail ballot.

The Doylestown resident was joined by Bucks County Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia, who also voted Friday, and Commissioners Gene DiGirolamo and Bob Harvie, who said they plan to vote at the polls on Election Day, Nov. 3.

"It is really a tremendous sea change in Pennsylvania that Pennsylvanians now have three different ways we can vote," Boockvar said. "We've never had that before in the history of the Commonwealth."

As of Thursday, 2.5 million Pennsylvanians have applied for mail-in ballots, Boockvar said, and she expects that number to increase to roughly 3 million by Election Day.

Just under 1.5 million residents in the state voted by mail in the 2020 primary, and in the 2016 presidential election, just under 300,000 Pennsylvanians voted by absentee ballot.

Bucks County began sending out requested absentee and mail-in ballots to registered on Wednesday, county officials said. Ballots will take anywhere between two to five days to reach their destinations.

In Bucks County, residents can make an appointment with the elections office to arrange a time to safely and securely fill out their ballot. In addition to the election headquarters at 55 E. Main St., Doylestown, the county has satellite offices in Levittown and Quakertown where residents can vote early in person by mail ballot.

Related: Here's How To Vote Early By Mail Ballot In Pennsylvania

When asked what measures were in place to deter voter fraud in the 2020 election, Boockvar pointed to Pennsylvania's participation in the Election Registration Information Center (ERIC), a national nonprofit organization that shares multi-state voter registration information with 30 states.

Speaking to reporters Friday, Commissioner Gene DiGirolamo urged Bucks County residents to place their confidence in the county elections office.

"Whether they choose to vote by mail, by absentee, or going to the polls in person, their votes are going to be counted, safe and secure," DiGirolamo said. "Nothing funny's going to happen."

DiGirolamo, a former Republican in the state legislature, hopes state lawmakers will pass legislation to allow county elections offices to pre-canvass, which would allow election workers to open ballot envelopes and prepare them for scanning prior to Nov. 3. Under current law, counties can only open ballots beginning at 7 a.m. on Election Day.

"I ran 13 times for the state legislature so I know how nervous people are on election night," DiGirolamo said. "You're anxious to find out who won and who lost. I hope to have results on election night."