Westmoreland County Democrats continued their pressure campaign Tuesday for the installation of drop boxes for mail-in ballots prior to next month’s primary election.
At a rally in front of the county courthouse in Greensburg, a group of Democratic leaders lobbied in favor of a plan to install drop boxes. They claimed the refusal of Republican county commissioners Sean Kertes and Doug Chew to back the effort was an intentional political act designed to limit voting and to continue partisan opposition to mail-in ballots.
“We have the equipment, we have the expertise and we know how to do it. The puzzling thing is my commissioner colleagues voted to allow them then (in 2020 through 2023) but refuse to allow them now. Let me be clear, this is not a partisan issue,” county Commissioner Ted Kopas told a gathering of about two dozen drop box supporters. Kopas is the lone Democrat elected to a countywide office.
“Both Republicans, Democrats and independents deserve convenience, consistent access to voting, especially those who are older or live in our rural communities,” Kopas said.
A series of speakers, including Democratic committee chairwoman Michelle McFall, labor leader Michael Hartung and Wayne Confer of Latrobe, a retired U.S. Army veteran, lobbied for installation of drop boxes, saying they ensure better access to voting for seniors, veterans and residents who live in rural communities.
“I do not have confidence in the postal service. So once I complete my vote, I’m supposed to travel to the courthouse, find parking, make my way to the (election bureau) and stand in line to submit it. Many veterans face even greater challenges. There is no reason secure drop boxes should not be provided so those who served our country can more easily cast their ballots,” Confer said.
The county used drop boxes during the 2020 and 2021 election cycles during the two weekends before election day at multiple locations that included the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity, the Westmoreland County Community College near Youngwood and other spots in Murrysville, New Kensington and Monessen.
One drop box was installed at the rear entrance to the courthouse on Pennsylvania Avenue in 2023.
Kertes and Chew abandoned the county’s drop box program in 2024, contending they were seldom used by voters and not worth the cost to staff, secure and transport them in remote locations outside of the courthouse.
Election bureau director Scott Ross said the county has six drop boxes in storage. He estimated a daily operating cost of $350 to $400 per unit, which includes two employees assigned to transport and monitor the equipment at every site.
Drop boxes are used in neighboring Allegheny, Armstrong and Indiana counties, officials said.
As of Tuesday, about 22,000 Westmoreland County voters submitted applications to vote by mail in the May primary. Mail-in ballot applications can be requested until a week prior to the May 19 primary. Ballots are expected to be sent to voters the week of April 20, Ross said.
The drop box issue could again be considered next week. Commissioners will conduct a public elections board meeting at 1 p.m. April 14 at the courthouse and convene another public meeting at 10 a.m. April 16 to consider general county business.
“I will continue to work with my colleagues to find a solution (to the drop box issue). If I feel there is potential for a second vote, I will make a motion,” Kopas said.
Kertes and Chew have been open to some changes to the county’s election process.
In February, they OK’d an $18,000 purchase to make paper ballots available at the county’s 306 voting precincts, a proposal that first surfaced following the 2020 presidential election from local Republican activists.
Voters will have the option to manually fill out a paper ballot or use the touch-screen voting computers that were first put into service in 2020.
The Republican commissioners initially authorized the paper ballot option at the polls for last November’s general election. Less than 4,000 of the more than 78,000 voters who cast ballots at the polls on election day voted using paper ballots, officials said.
Meanwhile, a potential vote to install drop boxes is unlikely.
Chew, in a text message, said the county election office does not have adequate staff to man drop boxes.
“Short staffing plus drop boxes opens the door for fraud,” Chew said.
Kertes, who also responded to questions through a text message, argued minimal usage of drop boxes led to the discontinuation of the program.
“At this point, drop boxes have become more of a political issue than one based on the actual facts and experience within the county,” Kertes said.
When asked if there was any drop box proposal he would consider, Kertes responded, “No.”