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County registrar outlines voter-registration work, Act 77 impacts and costs of mail-in voting
Summary
Franklin County chief registrar Jenny Ains presented operations and rule changes affecting voter registration and mail-in voting since Act 77 (2019), described list-maintenance tasks and costs, and noted state grants that offset recent election costs.
Chief Registrar Jenny Ains told the Franklin County Board of Commissioners that voter-registration and election administration are year-round responsibilities that have expanded since Act 77 of 2019 introduced no-excuse mail-in voting and shortened registration deadlines.
Ains outlined key duties of the registration office: new registrations and updates, processing absentee and mail-in ballot requests, list maintenance (including five-year notices and National Change of Address mailings), transfer of voter files within Pennsylvania, and post-election voter-history updates. She noted federal and state laws that govern county practices, including the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), and the Pennsylvania Election Code (Title 25), and said Act 77 changed the registration deadline from 30 to 15 days and created the permanent mail-in application list.
Ains described operational impacts since 2020: higher volumes of mailed ballot applications, repeated envelope and instruction redesigns prompted by litigation and state guidance, and substantial workloads for in-person ballot requests (what the office called "over-the-counter" mail-in ballot requests). She said list-maintenance mailings, printing (colored envelopes, privacy envelopes, full-page instructions), and postage are significant budget items. Ains noted the state—reated an election-integrity grant program that has provided the county with more than $500,000 annually since July 2022 to help with costs such as poll books, ballot printers, a second high-speed tabulator, and a ballot drop box.
Commissioners thanked Ains and asked follow-up questions about list-maintenance cycles, what it means for a voter to be marked inactive, and postage costs; Ains said staff could provide a postage-dollar figure on request. The board praised registrar staff for managing increased workloads and keeping election processes running smoothly.
Why it matters: changes in election law and voting methods have added administrative workload and costs for county election offices; state grants have offset some expenses but ongoing operational costs remain an issue for budgeting and planning.
Next steps: Registrar's office to provide requested postage cost figures on follow-up; county will continue to apply for state grant funding where eligible.
