The director of elections for Butler County is headed to Harrisburg next week to tell a state Senate committee how elections could be done cheaper and with fewer workers.

State legislators are in the information gathering phase. There is no proposed legislation at this time.

Shari Brewer, county elections director, is on a state-appointed committee comprised of Pennsylvania county officials.

She said the state needs to address the shrinking number of poll workers by allowing counties to change the system.

“Let us consolidate precincts,” Brewer said. “Go to election voting centers.”

She said another option is to switch to having only mailed balloting.

Brewer said Butler County would save at least $200,000 annually if polling sites were eliminated.

Three states — Colorado, Oregon and Washington — have only mailed ballots.

Brewer said there were only 129 petitions for 267 elected poll worker posts — judges of election and inspectors.

“We don’t have the younger generation coming up filling those slots,” she said.

Brewer said under state regulations, a polling place cannot open on election day if there are insufficient workers.

“If we’re short, we can’t open a precinct,” she said. “There isn’t a contingency plan for that.”