LANCASTER, Pa. — Mail-in voting has become an increasingly popular way for voters to make their voices heard during elections.
However, a recent report has some political experts concerned about voters’ confidence in using the system.
The Lancaster County Commissioners Office confirmed 268 Lancaster County mail-in ballots were not counted during last year’s election.
Stephen Medvic, a professor of government at Franklin & Marshall College, worries similar instances may have gone unreported.
“There must be cases where some ballots didn’t arrive on time. But I don’t think they might’ve happened in large enough numbers to gather anybody’s attention, but I’m not sure and I think one of the questions we have from 2023 is did this happen in other counties?” Medvic said.
Ballots were mailed on Oct. 29 and were delivered to the United States Postal Service Sorting Center in Harrisburg the following day.
Commissioners confirmed the ballots did not arrive at the Lancaster County elections office until Nov. 13, almost one week after election day.
The cause of the delay is unknown.
Medvic describes the timeline as troubling.
“That should be, you would assume, plenty of time for the mail to get from Harrisburg back to Lancaster, to the election board. My guess is that the ballots, those ballots, wasn’t handled any sort of special way.”
There are alternatives to mail-in voting.
“If they’re a little bit worried, it doesn’t mean, ‘don’t vote by mail.’ It just means get your ballot, but hand deliver it if you’re able,” Medvic said.
People can also visit their local election office and request a mail-in ballot in person. The ballot can be filled out and returned on the same trip.
FOX43 reached out to Pennsylvania’s Postal Workers Union to confirm if the U.S. Postal Service is investigating the delay, but did not receive a response.