Westmoreland County Commissioner Wants To Eliminate Permanent Mail-In Voting Option

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By: KDKA-TV News Staff

HARRISBURG (KDKA) - The Pennsylvania Senate Special Committee on Election Reform heard from state and county officials on Tuesday about what changes they would like to see in elections.

Westmoreland County Commissioner Douglas Chew was among those that testified.

He told the committee he wants to eliminate the option for voters to request permanent mail-in ballots.

Westmoreland County was limited in its ability to contact voters who needed to cure their ballots before Election Day.

"We did have almost 80,000 mailed ballots on November 3rd to sort through and that volume is just tremendous for a county with only a dozen employees in its election bureau," he said.

The commissioner also suggested eliminating the "secrecy envelope" in mail-in ballots and extending the deadline for counties to certify their election results.

The bipartisan committee is reviewing the 2020 election and is expected to issue a report covering recommendations for future elections.