Lebanon County elections office reports near‑93,000 registered voters, rising mail‑in use and active student poll worker program
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Summary
Elections officials briefed commissioners and the county election board on logistics for the upcoming election, updating registration and mail‑in numbers, describing outreach and student poll worker participation, and explaining how ballots flagged for missing signatures or dates are handled.
Lebanon County elections officials told commissioners the county now has about 92,954 registered voters and that mail‑in voting activity has increased ahead of the upcoming election.
Director of Elections Shawn Thrasher and Deputy Director Joyce Scarborough gave the update during a joint election‑board presentation. Scarborough said election staff had 1,970 mail‑in ballots on file — about 150 received in person at the office, roughly 1,700 received by mail and about 170 at an outside drop location — and the office had processed about 9,494 mail‑in requests to date.
Thrasher said the county’s registered voter roll is at a high point since he began tracking the numbers, with the county registering roughly 1,000 more voters a year in recent years. He said the city of Lebanon accounts for 14,018 of the county total and noted a growing Democratic‑registered advantage there.
Elections staff also described procedures for ballots set aside for missing signatures or dates following Pennsylvania court decisions. Thrasher said the county complies with Commonwealth and Supreme Court rulings and federal court guidance: ballots missing a date that federal courts require be counted will be counted; for ballots set aside because of a missing signature, the county contacts the voter — by phone and email — on election day to inform them they may cast a provisional ballot. “I personally … called about 200 voters and informed them their ballot had been set aside and that they have the right to cast a provisional ballot,” he said.
Officials reported logic‑and‑accuracy testing for voting equipment is complete, with full equipment testing scheduled the week before the election. The elections office said it expected to finish canvassing by about 1 p.m. on election day given current mail‑in volumes and staff levels, with remaining ballots counted later that evening.
The elections office also reported progress on a student poll‑worker program: the county has received applications from public and private schools including about 12 students from Cedar Crest High School, two students from Our Lady of the Cross and about 30 students through Lebanon High School’s usual participation. The office expects approximately 44 student poll workers countywide for this cycle and is seeking additional districts to increase participation.
The election board approved last meeting’s minutes and continued routine certification and testing work.
