HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania's May Primary is ten days away and election officials are making final preparations before the polls open.
“The good news is everything is on track and all the milestones have been hit," said Sean Drasher, director of the Lebanon County Board of Elections. "We have all of our poll workers lined up, the polling places are all set, and we're going to start delivering materials this week."
Drasher said the Lebanon County Board of Elections have already received 3,400 mail-in ballots from voters. To date, over 683,000 voters have applied for mail ballots across the Commonwealth.
Pennsylvania’s Department of State say voters have until Tuesday afternoon to turn in their applications for mail and absentee ballots.
“As long as you’re registered, you have until the end of the day on Tuesday to get it in," said Drasher. "And it has to be by the close of business, we have to have the application.”
Drasher said voters have several ways to turn in their ballots, including using a county drop box and going to your county’s board of elections.
“And of course, you can drop it in the mail. But if you do mail it to us, make sure you’re allowing us enough time to get it, like three to four days at least," said Drasher.
Drasher says this election cycle won’t be as busy as the November midterms.
Public policy professor Dan Mallinson from Penn State said turnout is traditionally lower in off-year elections.
“When you don’t have a big race at the top of the ticket, it does impact what we call ‘down ballot’ races below that top ticket," said Mallinson.
Despite the off-year election label, Drasher is urging voters to participate in their local elections.
“These are the people who decide when and where the potholes get filled, they decide whether you can have a chicken coup in your yard, they decide what materials go into your schools and how much you spend on sports teams," said Drasher.
"That’s this election.”