County commissioners across the state are looking for immediate reforms of vote-by-mail law Act 77.

In a news conference Monday, Butler County Commissioner Kevin Boozel, acting as president of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania, called on state legislators to quickly draft legislation that would reform two parts of Act 77, which allows state residents to vote by mail.

“We have to get the Act 77 right before we move on to other reforms,” Boozel said.

Boozel and the CCAP are calling for additional time to pre-canvass mail-in votes, and they want the deadline to apply for mail-in ballots to be moved from seven days before election day to 15 days.

Commissioners across the state experienced challenges caused by Act 77 during the recent primary election, according to Indiana County Commissioner Sherene Hess, who serves as the CCAP elections reform committee chairwoman.

“We are essentially forced to run two separate elections on the same day,” Hess said.

Hess said allowing people to apply up until seven days before election day isn't enough time for that process to come full circle.

During those seven days, the person requests the ballot by an application; the application is processed by county elections staff; a mail-in ballot is sent to the voter; the voter mails the ballot back; and then, the staff receives and processes the ballot.

“It produces a lot of anxiety on both sides,” Hess said.

Boozel said Butler County had its own issues with the short turnaround.

“We had more than a few hundred ballots rejected because they were received a day late,” he said. “It continues to be a problem.”

Lisa Schaefer, CCAP executive director, said the association has had many conversations with legislators about the proposed changes, but hasn't received any indication they would be moved on.

“I think if we get those two things done, you will definitely see a smoother implementation of mail-in ballots,” Schaefer said.

Boozel said he hopes legislators will hear their call and take action, and that they see county officials as a resource in making election reform in the future.

“I think what the counties have that the state Legislature does not is hands-on experience,” he said. “More election code changes are possible, but we have to learn from our experiences with Act 77.”