READING, Pa. – The Berks County Board of Elections voted Thursday to authorize the Office of Election Services to begin processing mail-in and absentee ballot applications as they are received because of an operational need.
Berks County Commissioner Christian Y. Leinbach clarified the resolution in that only the applications are being processed in accordance with state law.
“Every year people get applications confused with ballots,” he said. “We’re processing applications.”
Ballots may only be processed on election day.
Director of Election Services Anne Norton reported that the county has received about 1,000 applications to date.
Berks County Commissioner Dante Santoni Jr. reminded voters that the mail-in ballot system in Berks County is safe and secure.
Santoni said he made the comments in response to media and the federal administration raising questions about mail-in voting.
“We encourage people to vote by mail-in ballot, unless you want to come to the polls, which is fine,” Santoni said. “But we have a very secure system. It’s very safe. The 2020 election is over; it’s done. There was, there no issues with that, so let’s move on to 2026. So I just want to let our voters know and our community that mail in balloting is safe and that they should apply as soon as possible.”
Leinbach added that the county’s drop box system is as secure as it possibly can be.
“We have video 24/7 and when those drop boxes are opened, we have operating procedures that guarantee there are two people verifying,” Leinbach said.