Montgomery County’s mail-in ballot pre-canvassing efforts are pictured on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (Credit: Montgomery County).
The Montgomery County Board of Elections kicked off the 2025 election season as members convened on Thursday to authorize the relocation of nearly a dozen polling places.
Election board members unanimously agreed to move the 11 polling places in Lansdale, Lower Merion and Upper Dublin townships.
Redistricting was a primary reason cited by Director of Elections Frank Dean, who noted that notice had been posted at both the old and new polling locations. Representatives from the respective party committees have also been notified, Dean said, as voters should expect to receive a card in the mail signaling the new locations.
“I just hope people get out and vote, and I hope they do so [as] easily and successfully as possible. That’s our goal,” Dean told MediaNews Group in a Thursday afternoon phone interview.
As changing polling places was the sole item on the election board meeting agenda, officials looked to planning efforts ahead of the 2025 primary election scheduled for May 20. The Montgomery County Office of Voter Services has an annual operating budget of $6.5 million with a staff of 27 employees, according to Dean, who emphasized the office is looking to hire five more people.
“Montgomery County is well prepared for the upcoming primary election and we urge eligible residents to vote,” Montgomery County Election Board Chairman Neil Makhija told MediaNews Group.
The off-year election showcases several races, including judges, school boards and municipal positions. There were 614,503 registered voters for next month’s primary election recorded in Montgomery County as of Thursday. The voter registration deadline is slated for May 5.
Those interested in voting by mail have until 5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 13, to request a mail-in ballot, and ballots must be returned by the time the polls close at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, May 20.
The county received roughly 61,000 mail-in ballots so far, Dean said, as “our mail-in ballot numbers are right about where we were expecting them to be.” While Dean noted the ballots were “held up due to one last outstanding appeal,” a ruling from the commonwealth court that permitted a candidate to remain on the ballot should progress efforts, as Dean anticipated ballots were “expected to go out next week.”
Dean said that the voter services office is “ahead of schedule as far as poll worker recruitment” to retain 2,400 poll workers for the primary. He addedthat training is expected to begin in the next couple of weeks to ready the 428 polling places situated across the county.
The 2025 primary also features a special election in Norristown as recently appointed Councilwomen Natalie Colson and Jasmine Griffen will appear on the ballot for the fourth district and at-large council seats, respectively. Winners of the special election will finish out the terms of the Councilwoman Lauren Hughes and Councilman Tom Lepera, both of whom resigned, and their terms expire on Dec. 31, 2027.
Voters in Abington and Rockledge will also see a ballot referendum question on their ballot pertaining to spending $285 million to construct a new Abington Middle School.
“There are a couple of special elections here in Norristown, and a ballot referendum in Abington and Rockledge. So I think we could see that translate to higher participation specifically in those areas,” Dean said.
With respect to voter turnout, participation has been historically lower in off-year primaries, with rates in Montgomery County showing 39.43 percent in 2022 as well as 27.39 percent each in 2021 and 2023, and 15.83 percent in 2024, according to election reports.
“Municipal elections are critical to determine who is leading our communities, from the school board to the courts, but typically we have a lower turnout rate,” Makhija said. “Folks who cannot or do not want to vote in person should apply for a mail-in ballot.”
Given the political temperature across the nation, it’s unclear how voters will do in the Montgomery County primary.
While Dean noted off-year elections tend to “fall off a lot of people’s radars,” he stressed the importance of “we’re doing our best to drive that kind of community engagement from multiple standpoints that are what we believe are effective, but also apolitical, just so we can remain nonpartisan.”
Safety also remains a top priority for officials as the election season gets underway.
“We always take elections very seriously, especially security, so we have the same amount of time and resources allotted to respond to anything that might happen at a polling location, and we’re constantly working with poll workers to make sure they’re as trained as possible in any type of conflict mediation if they do encounter anyone so aggrieved,” Dean said.
Coming off the heels of a contentious 2024 presidential election, acts of violence have been on the rise. Most recently, noting the arrest of a 38-year-old man accused of setting fire to the governor’s mansion in Harrisburg while Gov. Josh Shapiro, First Lady Lori Shapiro and their children were in residence. No injuries were reported, but the structure sustained considerable damage.
The Montgomery County Detective Bureau created a threat assessment management unit in October 2024, tasked with investigating threats against public officials, schools, houses of worship, election offices, and public property. Officials stressed that the team remains in place.
“We are always vigilant about election security and are working to ensure this primary is no exception,” Makhija said.
