YORK, Pa. — As the Pennsylvania Democratic presidential primary approaches on April 28, election officials are racing to prepare.
Gov. Tom Wolf signed an overhaul of the state election system in 2019, requiring all counties to use new voting machines that leave a paper trail. The mandate is supposed to prevent technical glitches—like the the app glitch that happened at the Iowa caucuses in early February—and to protect election results.
"We`ve seen a lot of scrutiny in how long vulnerable our elections are to interference," said Brendan Welch, communications director for the Pennsylvania Democratic Party.
The transition to paperless ballots has been rocky at times.
"There were some issues that arose during the municipal general election back in November with some long lines, some jamming of scanners," said Steve Ulrich, director of the York County department of voting and elections.
The county purchased 65 more scanners for faster counting, Ulrich said.
Results may still come in later, however, because of another election change: Pennsylvanians can now vote through the mail without having to explain why they couldn't vote at their polling place.
The Pennsylvania Department of State estimates about 20 percent of votes may come in through mail-in ballots. In York County, that would mean 55,000 mail-in ballots for the general election. Vote tallies may not come out the same day as elections, as officials aren't allowed to start opening mail-in ballots until polls close at 8 p.m.
"We`re a little bit concerned with the amount of manpower it`s going to take to open the envelope, smooth out the ballot and run it through the scanner," Ulrich said.
The Pennsylvania Department of State launched the "Ready to Vote 2020" Initiative to help prepare voters for a smooth primary. The initiative's website includes links to 67 pages—one for each county—where voters can learn about the new voting system.
The deadline to register for the primary is April 13.