York Township resident urges changes to election procedures; commissioners say county follows state law and has no drop boxes

During the public comment period at the April 16 meeting of the York County Board of Commissioners, York Township resident Virginia Schultz urged the board to change local election procedures and listed several concerns about ballot security and voting methods.

Virginia Schultz said ballot boxes "generally, we do not know if they are secure," and told commissioners she believes ballot boxes are unnecessary and subject to manipulation. Schultz urged the county to adopt voter ID requirements, switch to paper ballots and discontinue the use of voting machines, and said training exists that she described as "100% accurate and it's not costly." She also said she believed the county has 61 precincts and noted what she described as a 50-day election period in Pennsylvania.

A presiding commissioner responded for the record that "in York County we do not have drop boxes" and added that many election procedures are dictated by state law and statute, which the county must follow. The commissioner also acknowledged the presence of Recorder of Deeds Lara Schuh and thanked staff involved in the day's proclamation events.

Schultz's remarks were made during the meeting's open public comment period; commissioners did not propose changes during the meeting. The board did not take any formal action on the suggestions, and the presiding commissioner said implementation of election rules depends on the state legislature and applicable statutes.

Comments in this meeting about changes to election administration did not cite specific Pennsylvania statutes or municipal code sections; the county response referenced state law generally but did not identify a statute by number.