DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (AP) — In the heart of the nation’s premier presidential battleground state, a cumbersome and inefficient early voting mechanism is leading to considerable frustration. Long lines of voters are forming, with some waiting upwards of three hours, as many flock to county offices that are ill-equipped for the unexpected surge, igniting claims of voter disenfranchisement.
On Tuesday, the last day to apply for a mail ballot in suburban Philadelphia’s Bucks County—often considered a political bellwether—would-be voters were met with delays of up to three hours. This significant bottleneck has raised eyebrows and questions about the efficiency of Pennsylvania’s new voting protocols.
Why has there been such a shift in voter behavior compared to four years ago, when in-person applications for early ballots were scarce?
“Because he told us to vote early. I was just trying to make it ‘too big to rig,’” expressed 52-year-old Marlene Burns. Her commitment to casting her vote in person reflects a widespread belief among Trump’s supporters, who feel empowered by the former president’s calls for early participation.
The current turmoil surrounding early voting in Pennsylvania surfaces amid escalating tensions over voting regulations in a state that boasts the largest share of electoral votes among all battlegrounds. This year, it has attracted immense attention from both Democratic and Republican presidential candidates, each vying for crucial support.
A significant factor contributing to this latest debacle is a 2019 law passed by the then-Republican-controlled Pennsylvania Legislature, which aimed to facilitate mail-in voting but created a convoluted process for early voting. Unlike most states that offer centralized voting centers for early ballot casting, Pennsylvania employs a system called “on-demand mail voting,” which adds layers of complexity for voters.
In this process, voters are required to present themselves at their county government offices to request a mail ballot, fill out an application, and wait for it to be reviewed for eligibility. This approval process culminates in printing a ballot, which can take approximately 12 minutes per voter, assuming no hitches occur. Voters are then given options to complete their ballots on-site, take them home, or receive them through the mail.
County election officials have reported that the influx of voters has far exceed their preparation levels, revealing a dire need for additional funding to properly staff offices and equip them to handle the high demand. Currently, many counties are struggling with outdated equipment, including a single printer designated for early in-person ballots, complicating the issuance of inner and outer envelopes.
“It’s an uncertain process for a lot of people because it’s still relatively new, and it’s also kind of inefficient,” stated Bob Harvie, Chairman of the Bucks County Board of Elections, acknowledging the frustrations experienced by voters venturing into an imperfectly optimized system. “There’s definitely changes that need to be made.”
In the wake of public criticism and rampant misinformation on social media, the Bucks County government asserted that every voter who was in line by 5 p.m. on Tuesday would be permitted to apply for a mail ballot. The state’s secretary of state further advised voters to “please be patient” as the situation unfolded.
Other counties echoed this reassurance, stressing that early voters still had the opportunity to meet the Tuesday evening deadline for applying for their ballots. Despite previous years marked by a surge in mail-in voting due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2022 midterms did not follow suit with typical presidential election turnout.
Harvie emphasized the pressing need for additional funds to improve staffing and equipment specifically for early voting initiatives. He advocated for legislative amendments that would allow voters to automatically receive mail ballots annually, eliminating the cumbersome need to submit an application for each election.
However, a politically divided Pennsylvania government has largely stagnated efforts to modernize election laws since the controversial 2019 legislation.
As early voting drew to a close, Republican lawmakers expressed concern over complaints from voters about county office closures during the application process. They urged Bucks County officials to reconsider operational hours while simultaneously managing a steady flow of applicants. In a statement on their website, the county warned that it might have to cease taking applications “to ensure all applications are processed by the end of the day.”
Harvie underscored the confusion that currently pervades the early voting system, which has left many voters uncertain about where to place their trust. “When you’re told that, yes, you can go do early voting by someone, and then you show up and you’re told, well, no, you can’t do early voting — you know, voters aren’t sure who to believe,” he remarked, illustrating the complex web of information surrounding the voting process.
