Public urges more drop boxes and tighter ballot security after primary

Multiple residents urged the board to expand ballot drop-box access and strengthen physical security for ballot storage after the primary. Sandy Malamed called for more drop boxes and for existing boxes to be available around the clock, citing Delaware County's ratio of boxes to voters and arguing Chester County's current distribution makes returning ballots harder for many voters. "Add more drop boxes," Malamed said, and asked that the Government Services Building box be reopened as a 24-hour location.

Gail Newman of Malvern Borough raised security concerns about mail ballots and tabulators stored between the mailing and tabulation periods. Newman said hiring an outside security firm may be cost-prohibitive but suggested temporarily redeploying county staff or deputizing employees from slower departments as 24/7 coverage to supplement cameras. "I think that a security guard backs up the cameras," Newman said. Lynn Strauss also urged that the government-services drop box be monitored and available as soon as ballots are mailed so voters can return them promptly.

Speakers requested the board investigate whether drop boxes can be located near police stations, deploy existing cameras for additional monitoring and review hours of availability. They cited recent postal-service reliability concerns and asked the board to consider access and equity when setting drop-box placement and hours.