(READING, Penn. ) — Voting has begun in the swing state of Pennsylvania with more than 1.4 million applicants for mail-in ballots ahead of the Election Day on Nov. 5, according to AP News. On the day that Berks County Election Services planned to begin distribution of mail-in ballots, Assistant Director Stephanie Nojiri took a brief moment to sit down with The Click to explain her role and how mail-in balloting works in Berks County.
Noriji’s role includes overseeing the handling of the mail-in and absentee ballots. Her office is also responsible for managing communications for the Office of Election Services and social media. The office has a vital role in administering accurate information regarding voting regulations and other necessary information for voters.
Asked about her office’s role in sending out mail-in ballots to voters, Nojiri said that her office prepares for the process all year. “We maintain a database of all registered voters throughout the county. So think of it like the transportation department, they maintain a database of drivers. We do that for registered voters.”
All year long, the office is receiving updates regarding the status of a voter including if they move or register for the first time. In Pennsylvania, voters wishing to vote absentee must apply for a mail-in ballot. Noriji said that as of Sept. 27, there have been 32,500 mail-in ballots prepared since the beginning of the year.
Asked about any rules or regulations that voters are frequently unfamiliar with, Noriji said that individuals are required to put their mail-in ballots in a ‘secrecy envelope’ to protect their identity so that nobody can see how a voter voted. The second envelope, which holds the secrecy envelope, is called the reply envelope, she explained. As of right now, in the state of Pennsylvania if you do not sign and date your ballot accurately, although that ruling has been appealed, as explained in this WHYY article. Noriji compares the secrecy envelope to a typical polling station where voters are protected by a privacy shield when voting for their candidate.
“There are a lot of lawsuits going around to change the dating aspect, but we encourage voters to put the date on there then you know you are good,” Nojiri said,
To any voters that may be worried about ballots being tampered with, Nojiri explains that there is a unique barcode for each voter allowing the office to determine that the ballot is legitimate and was cast correctly.
The ballots remain secure at the Office of Election services– they are locked away to avoid tampering and to further affirm that there is no conspiracy for tampered ballots.
“There are checks and balances,” said Nojiri. “The sheriff’s office has a set of keys, our office has a set of keys.”
All the ballots received are routinely checked in the database to verify voter information. This checks off to see who is getting sent a mail-in ballot. “It is kind of like accounting, you have to check that every number matches.”
Nojiri says that the results of the ballots are certified after the election before the outcome is released.
To learn more about voter information in Berks County, visit the election services website for resources.
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