The director of the county Bureau of Elections attended Wednesday's county commissioners meeting to apprise them on the upcoming general election and to update the public on recent election-related developments.

Aaron Sheasley stressed that regarding mail-in ballots, each ballot must be inside the secrecy envelope provided in the packet received by the voter and that envelope must be sealed.

He said ballots in the primary election in June were required to be inside the secrecy envelope, but a new mandate requires the secrecy envelope to be sealed as well.

“This envelope must be used, and it must be sealed in order for us to process your ballot,” Sheasley said.

All mail-in ballots sent to voters will include a clear instruction checklist, he said.

Sheasley said his office has received 42,095 requests for mail-in ballots so far, and more are coming in each day.

The deadline to request a mail-in ballot is Oct. 27. Registration deadline is Oct. 19 in Pennsylvania.

The elections bureau has received multiple mail-in ballot requests from single voters, but duplicate requests are flagged and declined, he said.

He said the county is still seeing double-digit percentage growth in new registered voters or voting by those who have not cast a ballot in years.“That's very good for democracy,” Sheasley said.Voters can view specimen ballots on the county website, butlercountypa.gov, beginning today.The mail-in ballots are expected to arrive at the elections bureau this week, and Sheasley said envelopes are stuffed and just waiting for the ballot.Mail-in ballots will begin to be mailed on Friday.“We'll be here all weekend, and a large batch will go out on Monday,” Sheasley said.

Voters who use the in-person method of voting but will be out of the county during the election can now come to the elections bureau and vote, Sheasley said.Those voters can fill out a mail-in ballot request at the elections bureau and have it approved and processed on the spot.“We have a limited number of ballots for that,” Sheasley said. “People are taking advantage of it already, so the voting process has started.”In-person voting will continue at the elections bureau until Oct. 27, he said, but mail-in ballots can be submitted at the election bureau through Election Day.Wil White, county solicitor, said neither drop boxes nor satellite locations will be used for mail-in ballots.Those planning to hand- deliver mail-in ballots must bring them to the elections bureau in the county government building at the intersection of South Jackson and West Diamond streets.

Sheasley said there may be confusion among voters on a recent decision to extend the election deadline by three days.He stressed that the measure does not give voters an extra three days to fill out their ballot and put it in the mail.Each mail-in ballot must be postmarked by 8 p.m. on Election Day, but the three-day extension allows the post office time to deliver all the ballots to the elections bureau.“We are working with the (Butler post office) postmaster to ensure we are in constant communication,” Sheasley said. “There will be a last push to get things to us.”

For those who choose to cast their ballots at their regular voting precinct, Sheasley said all 89 precincts in Butler County will be open and staffed with poll workers.While no polling locations have been closed, a few have been moved to allow for compliance with coronavirus pandemic safety protocol, he said.Letters were sent to all voters whose precincts were moved, and signs will be displayed at former polling sites with instructions on the location of the new site.Most new sites are near the former polling places, Sheasley said.The county also has acquired special scanners for the precincts that allow visually impaired voters to use headphones to listen to the names of the candidates and make their vote, Sheasley said.Sheasley is working with the state Department of Justice to ensure the names of all candidates in the county are correctly pronounced in the program used for the visually impaired.“We have received multiple requests this time around,” Sheasley said.

The elections bureau has experienced a few issues leading up to the general election, one of which originated at the state level.Voters who cast absentee ballots, particularly those living overseas due to military deployment, education and other reasons, are to receive an email alerting them that their absentee ballot has been approved and an encrypted ballot is on the way.A second email, which contains an encrypted link to download the ballot, is being returned as “undeliverable” in a few cases, Sheasley said.“It's impacting every county across the commonwealth,” he said.The elections bureau staff has heard from a handful of voters who contacted them to report they have not received their encrypted ballot link.“It's not happening to everyone,” Sheasley said. “We are actively receiving military votes.”He said the problem originated at the state level and is being addressed.Another recent issue has been new voters receiving multiple voter registration cards, White said.

While the problem has been resolved, a technical glitch in the elections bureau office caused some new voters to receive more than one voter registration card.But White explained that once a name is recorded as having voted, no vote can be cast in that name.“A voter ID card in and of itself isn't going to allow you to vote multiple times,” White said.Also, voters are not required to show poll workers their voter ID card when voting, White said.

Sheasley said his staff has been busy processing voter registration packets.“We process 75 to 100 in any given day,” Sheasley said.White said a webpage will be launched in the near future with frequently asked questions regarding the 2020 general election and the voting process.Also, mail-in and absentee voters can access a database that will show whether their vote has been recorded. Those voters can track their vote by visiting votespa.com/Voting-in-PA/Pages/Mail-and-Absentee-Ballot.aspx and scrolling to “Already applied for a mail-in ballot?” to see the status.