DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa. — With Election Day around the corner, counties across the state of Pennsylvania are gearing up for a busy season.
Lisa Schaefer, Executive Director with the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania, says they’ve been working closely with counties to make sure everything runs smoothly.
“We know there’s a lot of misinformation, we know there’s a lot of questions and confusion, so our role as an organization is speaking on behalf of counties can help to provide that consistent message and provide another source of accurate information that voters can look to as we move toward the November election,” Schaefer said.
Voters in Pennsylvania have until Oct. 29 to apply for a mail-in or absentee ballot.
But, people aren’t expected to receive one any time soon.
“We are still waiting for the courts to finish resolving challenges to certain petitions, certain challenges on the ballot, until that happens the department of state cannot certify a ballot and then counties cannot certify their ballots and print those,” Schaefer said.
There is no law that says counties must distribute ballots at a certain time, other than when they are finalized.
Schaefer says the holdup is from pending objections and legal actions related to third-party candidates.
“Those candidates have been challenged based on their petitions or other qualifications, and those appeals are still pending before the Pennsylvania supreme court, so until those challenges are resolved they cannot certify a final ballot for printing,” Schaefer said.
Last month, Robert F Kennedy Jr was granted a petition to withdraw from the state ballot.
According to the Department of State’s 2024 Nomination Paper Mandamus and Objections Tracker, the state supreme court has pending decisions on 4 other candidates.
“You can see commonwealth court says ‘no’ but supreme court’s been appealed so it’s ‘to be determined,’” Schaefer described.
FOX43 reached out to the state supreme court on when candidates will be selected.
A spokesperson could not provide a timeline at this time.
We also attempted to reach the Department of State for comment but did not receive a response.
Schaefer encourages people to contact their county’s election office to stay up to date with the most recent information.