Elections workers demonstrate how ballots will be counted at the Philadelphia Election Warehouse Oct. 25, 2024 (Capital-Star photo by John Cole)
Montgomery County election officials concluded preparations for Tuesday’s election with the appointment of around 2,450 poll workers and 100 canvass board members.
The Montgomery County Board of Elections convened Monday afternoon to finalize assignments for the 428 polling places across 313 locations. Montgomery County Director of Elections Frank Dean addressed board members on those who will cover the 2025 general election’s in-person and mail-in ballot components.
Registered voters will have three ways to cast their ballots for the off-year election featuring races for judgeships, as well as various municipal and school board races.
Around 618,000 registered voters were recorded in Montgomery County, according to a Montgomery County spokesperson. Roughly 106,335 mail-in ballots have been sent out, according to Dean, with about 78,000 mail-in ballots returned as of Monday afternoon, which Montgomery County Election Board Chairman Neil Makhija called an “off-year record.”
“It’s significantly higher than we were anticipating for this election,” Dean said, noting it was “15 percent higher than we were predicting for this year.”Comparing past off-year elections off the heels of a major presidential race, officials looked to the 2021 general election, which netted a 37.78 voter turnout rate, according to a 2021 election summary report. Of the 224,906 ballots cast, 151,121 ballots were cast on Election Day, while 72,861 were cast by mail and 924 were provisional ballots.
With respect to mail-in ballots in the 2025 general election, officials maintained ballots without dates on the outer envelope would still be counted. A federal appeals court ruled back in August that “throw[ing] out mail-in ballots simply because the voter didn’t write an accurate date on the return envelope” was deemed unconstitutional, according to reporting from the Associated Press.
“I’m not a legal expert, but unless a legal challenge were to be filed that preclude us from doing so, it is our intention to canvass ballots that do not have any date on them. We will still be segregating those ballots and scanning them separately in the event that litigation comes out after the fact,” Dean said, noting around 500 ballots have been identified so far.
In addition to the poll workers and judges of elections involved in election proceedings, Dean noted county election board members will delegate “pre-canvass and canvass votes cast by a mail-in and absentee ballots” to the 100-member canvass board.
“In the days following the election the Board of Elections shall examine provisional ballot envelopes to determine if the individual voting the provisional ballot is entitled to have that ballot counted,” Dean said, citing election code that permits county election board members the “authority to delegate their responsibilities to representatives authorized to act on the board’s behalf.”
The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and all ballots must be received by the time the polls close on Election Day. Visit montcovotes.com for more information about elections in Montgomery County.
“Make a plan to vote on Election Day,” Makhija said.
