Lebanon County election officials told the board on April 17 that logic and accuracy testing for the upcoming election was nearly complete, the mail vendor has the ballot file ready, and mail ballots would be mailed once testing finishes.

Elections staff reported they had completed testing of central count equipment and ADA/express vote machines and were conducting remaining tests on DS200 precinct scanners. The office said the print vendor already has the mail‑in ballot file and that ballots should be mailed “perhaps tomorrow, definitely Monday,” pending completion of testing.

The elections board unanimously approved the ballot files that had been distributed to candidates and municipalities. Staff recommended establishing a guarded ballot drop‑off point at the elections office and said it should be deployed “the week from Monday.” Board members voted to open a guarded, staffed ballot drop‑off with limited hours and security measures and to keep it in place through election day. Elections staff said the guarded drop‑off will be monitored, covered by cameras, and equipped with a panic button that connects to the sheriff’s office; board members discussed using a uniformed, professional guard or a deputy sheriff for the site.

The board also discussed access to the drop‑off: poll workers will be instructed to allow voters to place their own ballot into the box one at a time if they wish, while staff retain control of chain‑of‑custody procedures. Staff said mail‑and‑vote requests have fallen from an earlier high and are currently around 7,000 requests.

Board members raised a separate, unresolved concern about a recent executive order and litigation in other jurisdictions that could affect the use of barcodes in some voting equipment (noting that some ADA machines use barcodes); election staff said most of the executive order content matches current local practices but that some language is ambiguous and could require legal review. The board said business will proceed as usual for now.

Ending: County elections staff expect ballots to go out shortly after testing; the board approved the ballot files and a guarded drop‑off and instructed staff on procedures intended to preserve chain of custody while accommodating voters.