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00:27 - Welcome to County

00:27 - Connections brought to you

00:29 - by the County Commissioners

00:30 - Association of Pennsylvania.

00:32 - I'm Lisa Schaefer.

00:33 - See Caps Executive Director.

00:35 - County Connections is

00:36 - designed to help you understand

00:37 - the important services

00:39 - Pennsylvanians 67 counties

00:40 - provide to your communities

00:42 - every day on a daily basis.

00:44 - Today's show focuses on

00:45 - the important responsibilities

00:46 - our counties have to make sure

00:48 - that we are running fair,

00:50 - secure and accurate elections.

00:52 - Joining me here

00:53 - in the studio today,

00:54 - Montgomery County

00:55 - Commissioner Ken Lawrence,

00:57 - York County

00:57 - Commissioner Julie Wheeler.

00:58 - Thank you so much for

00:59 - joining us today. Welcome.

01:02 - So I think what some of our

01:04 - watchers might not know is

01:05 - that counties run elections,

01:07 - but we handle everything

01:08 - from beginning to end,

01:10 - not just on Election Day,

01:11 - but throughout the entire year.

01:13 - Can can you talk

01:14 - to us a little bit?

01:14 - What makes you confident in

01:16 - your county's election process?

01:18 - What makes me

01:19 - confident, Lisa, is our staff,

01:21 - our committed staff,

01:22 - who works tirelessly year

01:24 - round on the elections.

01:26 - But also what a lot of

01:27 - people don't realize is

01:29 - we need a lot of volunteers

01:30 - and people on Election Day, too.

01:32 - So we have a lot of

01:33 - citizens very involved

01:35 - in making sure that we

01:36 - have fair and safe elections

01:38 - with watchers and

01:39 - everything else.

01:40 - But it is, as you mentioned,

01:41 - a year round responsibility.

01:44 - Everyone knows the to

01:45 - election day is primary day

01:46 - and the general election day.

01:47 - But there's a lot that goes

01:49 - into getting us to that point.

01:52 - And Julie,

01:53 - your county, what would you say

01:54 - makes you confident in

01:55 - your election process? So

01:56 - what Ken said are our committed

01:58 - election department staff.

02:00 - One of the things that

02:01 - we're committed to in

02:02 - your county is continuous

02:03 - process improvement.

02:05 - We actually have an

02:06 - elections task force

02:08 - that's in place that

02:09 - functions probably

02:10 - 8 to 9 months out of the year.

02:12 - And that's comprised

02:13 - of not only folks

02:13 - in our elections department,

02:15 - but folks from our I.T.

02:16 - Department, Office

02:18 - of Emergency Management,

02:19 - our comptroller's

02:20 - office administration.

02:22 - It's a large cross-section of

02:23 - county agencies working together

02:26 - to ensure that we've

02:27 - got plans in place,

02:29 - actions assigned,

02:30 - owners assigned to them.

02:31 - And, you know, there's

02:32 - always room for improvement.

02:34 - But another thing that

02:34 - we do in the department

02:35 - is we cross-train our employees

02:37 - so that if someone's out sick

02:39 - or unforeseen on Election Day,

02:40 - we have somebody

02:41 - that can back them up.

02:42 - So we are committed

02:43 - to running organized

02:44 - and efficient elections

02:45 - and continually

02:46 - look at how we can improve

02:47 - and how we can get better.

02:49 - To make the voter

02:50 - experience a pleasant one.

02:52 - So it sounds like

02:53 - there's a lot involved

02:54 - in running an election

02:55 - on a day to day basis.

02:56 - You've both been commissioners

02:58 - for several years, Julie.

02:59 - What would you say

03:00 - is the one thing that

03:01 - what have you

03:01 - learned about elections

03:02 - as a commissioner that you

03:03 - wish the general public now

03:05 - can touched on it a little bit.

03:07 - An integral part

03:08 - of the Election Day

03:09 - process are the individuals

03:10 - who work at our polls,

03:11 - our poll workers,

03:12 - whether that's a

03:12 - judge of elections, a minority

03:14 - inspector, a majority inspector

03:16 - or a poll worker.

03:18 - In your county, we have

03:19 - 161 polling locations,

03:20 - and it would be impossible

03:22 - for the election staff

03:23 - to staff all those so

03:24 - we could not be successful

03:26 - and navigate Election Day

03:27 - without our poll workers.

03:29 - So they are vital

03:30 - to our process.

03:32 - I would add that

03:32 - these individuals

03:33 - that work at the polls,

03:34 - they're on the front lines

03:35 - and they are easy targets

03:37 - for voters who are frustrated

03:39 - with the process, frustrated

03:41 - with the election laws.

03:42 - And like the poll

03:44 - workers, our election staff

03:46 - and the commissioners,

03:47 - we don't make the rules.

03:48 - The rules

03:49 - and the guidelines are set

03:50 - by the folks up in the state.

03:51 - So that is one

03:52 - thing that, you know,

03:53 - the more we can

03:54 - communicate out to folks, it's

03:55 - not the folks in the

03:56 - polls that are working.

03:57 - They they're just there to

03:58 - serve and follow the guidelines

04:00 - as they're set forth.

04:02 - And I think elections

04:03 - departments

04:03 - are doing their best.

04:04 - And Ken alluded to that as

04:06 - well, to navigate the guidelines

04:08 - and the laws and the

04:09 - ever changing nuances

04:11 - that are set our

04:11 - way via the courts.

04:12 - So it's a playing field

04:14 - that's got a lot of balls on it.

04:16 - And I believe our

04:17 - elections departments

04:18 - across the Commonwealth

04:19 - do their best to navigate that.

04:21 - How about you can, will you say,

04:23 - have you learned while

04:24 - you've been a commissioner

04:24 - about the elections

04:25 - process that are complicated

04:27 - and it takes and you

04:28 - can't wait until the day

04:30 - before Election Day to

04:31 - do it like we're on calls now

04:34 - and with mail in voting, we've

04:35 - actually have two elections now.

04:37 - I mean, we have

04:38 - the mail in voting,

04:39 - but then we have the

04:40 - in-person election too.

04:41 - So we've had to adjust to that.

04:43 - We've had to improve as well

04:45 - to make sure that

04:45 - we have enough staff

04:46 - to handle both of

04:47 - those responsibilities.

04:49 - And really, our Voter Services

04:50 - Department is working on it,

04:52 - but it's really sad.

04:53 - Our whole county

04:53 - government is involved

04:55 - to some degree on Election Day

04:57 - to make sure that all those

04:58 - moving parts come together.

05:00 - Great.

05:01 - Well, let's talk a little bit

05:02 - about more about Election Day.

05:04 - I mean, we all want

05:05 - our voters know

05:05 - that our elections are fair

05:07 - and secure and accurate

05:08 - and everyone snowed,

05:09 - their vote is counted properly.

05:11 - But we know

05:11 - there's been a lot of questions

05:13 - in recent years, especially

05:14 - about how that happens.

05:16 - So what would you say

05:18 - to those who have

05:19 - questions about the process?

05:21 - Where can they go?

05:22 - Where can they get information?

05:24 - What should they do with it

05:25 - if they want to know more?

05:26 - Well, I know for

05:26 - Montgomery County

05:27 - and I think for other

05:28 - counties as well,

05:29 - we're trying to get

05:30 - information out there.

05:31 - We have instructional

05:33 - videos on our our

05:34 - on our website that

05:35 - people can go to

05:36 - to actually see how

05:37 - that process works.

05:39 - It's not some mysterious,

05:41 - you know, dark room.

05:43 - There's a lot that goes into it

05:46 - to some degree.

05:47 - I think it's

05:47 - good that there's

05:48 - more interest in this now,

05:50 - but I just hope that

05:50 - people will take the time

05:51 - to actually educate themselves

05:53 - and get the facts about

05:55 - how the elections

05:55 - are actually run,

05:56 - how ballots are

05:58 - handled, and not look for

06:01 - fictitious documentaries

06:02 - that that will

06:05 - give a different

06:06 - slant to things that it's

06:07 - very different than how it's

06:08 - run in Montgomery County

06:11 - and York as well.

06:11 - So I would just add

06:14 - one of the things

06:15 - that we do in New York is

06:17 - especially for Election Day,

06:19 - we engage our Office of

06:20 - Emergency Management,

06:22 - our sheriff's department and

06:23 - our district attorney's office.

06:24 - We actually have an

06:25 - emergency action plan

06:26 - that we put in place,

06:27 - kind of that's the pregame.

06:29 - But certainly on Election Day,

06:31 - all of these county

06:32 - agencies are working together

06:33 - to ensure a positive

06:35 - voter experience and

06:37 - much like Montgomery

06:37 - County, we have frequently asked

06:39 - questions on our website.

06:40 - We have videos out there.

06:42 - Certainly our staff

06:42 - are always available

06:43 - to answer phone calls and

06:45 - emails regarding the process.

06:46 - It is very complicated

06:48 - and it's still very

06:49 - labor intensive

06:49 - and we are humans and

06:50 - humans do make mistakes

06:52 - and we do our best

06:53 - to learn from those mistakes

06:54 - and put measures in place.

06:55 - So that those mistakes

06:56 - will happen again.

06:57 - We also have watchers

06:58 - from both parties

06:59 - who are

07:00 - watching the whole process,

07:01 - and if we don't have watchers

07:03 - from both parties,

07:04 - then we're not counting.

07:05 - So we work with

07:06 - our political parties

07:07 - during election night to

07:08 - during the whole canvasing

07:10 - and counting of the ballots.

07:11 - And as I said,

07:12 - if we don't have watchers

07:13 - from both parties, they're

07:15 - then we're not counting ballots.

07:17 - And we are to add to

07:18 - that, we're very transparent.

07:20 - We allow folks to come

07:21 - in, watch and monitor.

07:23 - We actually have a remote set up

07:24 - that if the room gets too

07:26 - large, we have TV cameras

07:28 - that folks can sit in

07:29 - another location and watch

07:30 - what was going on,

07:31 - watch what's going on.

07:32 - And we do encourage

07:34 - candidates and

07:34 - representative candidates

07:36 - to come in and view the process

07:37 - because we don't

07:37 - have anything to hide.

07:39 - So as we said,

07:39 - you know, elections

07:40 - go beyond Election Day.

07:42 - You're doing a lot of

07:42 - work leading up to them.

07:43 - A lot of work afterward.

07:45 - What's it like in your election

07:46 - office, Joy, outside

07:47 - of Election Day?

07:48 - Well, it's very busy.

07:49 - I think there might

07:50 - be a perception

07:51 - out there in the public

07:52 - that things stop after

07:53 - the votes are tabulated

07:54 - and they're

07:55 - reported on websites.

07:56 - There's always work to be done.

07:58 - We're processing

07:59 - voter registrations.

08:00 - We're practicing

08:01 - applications for

08:02 - mail in ballots.

08:03 - And our absentee

08:04 - ballots are military ballots.

08:05 - And even though

08:06 - we do have a lot of technology

08:08 - today, as I mentioned earlier,

08:09 - the process is still

08:10 - very labor intensive,

08:11 - a lot of clerical work, a lot

08:13 - of filing data management.

08:16 - There's always something

08:17 - going on in elections office.

08:19 - It's it's nonstop.

08:21 - How about in Montgomery County?

08:23 - Voter registration

08:25 - goes on all the time.

08:27 - A lot of different things.

08:28 - Come on.

08:28 - People come in with

08:30 - various questions and going

08:31 - and as as was mentioned

08:33 - with mail in voting now

08:34 - to that application process

08:37 - requires more staff more

08:39 - manual input of the data there.

08:42 - And then Election Day,

08:43 - it's always kind of crazy.

08:44 - And there's lots of

08:45 - donuts, lots of coffee there.

08:46 - There and pizza for pizza.

08:48 - So I think that's the

08:49 - staple of that day.

08:51 - But if you go down to the

08:52 - Alexa, our voter services

08:54 - office at any time, there's

08:55 - something going on there,

08:57 - no matter what

08:57 - time of year it is.

08:58 - I think the other

08:59 - big thing is supplies,

09:01 - especially with

09:02 - the implementation of

09:03 - mail in ballots, a lot of paper,

09:04 - a lot of envelopes,

09:05 - a lot of postage.

09:06 - So there's a lot of supplies

09:08 - that need to be replenished

09:10 - after an election cycle.

09:12 - So what would you

09:13 - both say, you know,

09:14 - if you could speak to elections

09:15 - to that election, to a

09:16 - voter in your county,

09:17 - what would you say is

09:18 - the most important thing

09:19 - you want them to walk away?

09:21 - Knowing about your

09:21 - county's election process is

09:24 - that we are committed

09:24 - to making sure

09:25 - that each and every

09:26 - vote is counted,

09:27 - no matter who cast that vote,

09:29 - and also making sure

09:30 - that the voter has

09:31 - a good experience

09:32 - when they come out

09:32 - to the polling place or

09:34 - however they choose to vote,

09:36 - we want them to know

09:37 - that their vote matters to us,

09:38 - and we're going to make

09:39 - sure that that vote is counted.

09:41 - How about you, Julie?

09:42 - I would just add that

09:43 - we are committed

09:44 - to running, organized

09:45 - and efficient elections

09:46 - and we are doing the very best

09:48 - we can to navigate the process.

09:49 - And the process is complex

09:51 - and cumbersome, but

09:52 - we are doing our best

09:53 - and we desire to provide

09:55 - top notch customer service to

09:57 - our voters

09:58 - that we serve.

10:00 - So your staff who are running

10:02 - operations on a day to day

10:03 - basis, you know, what

10:04 - would you say about them

10:05 - and the work that

10:06 - they're doing, Julie?

10:07 - I mean, we can't

10:08 - run without them.

10:09 - What they do is so important

10:11 - to the election process.

10:13 - And like the poll

10:14 - workers, they're all on

10:15 - the front lines, too, but

10:16 - they're on the front lines.

10:17 - From a back office standpoint.

10:19 - They have to know a lot about

10:21 - election code, election laws,

10:23 - how to process this

10:24 - form, how to process

10:25 - that form, how to enter

10:26 - this into the Shaw system.

10:27 - It's very complicated and

10:29 - it is very labor intensive.

10:31 - And I think they do

10:32 - an outstanding job.

10:33 - I think

10:33 - each one of them are

10:34 - committed to

10:35 - doing their very best

10:36 - and ensuring every

10:37 - vote gets counted

10:38 - and everyone that wants

10:39 - to vote is able to vote.

10:41 - You both mentioned

10:42 - poll workers several times.

10:45 - Do you have enough poll workers?

10:46 - If if there is an opportunity,

10:47 - how would the public

10:48 - get involved in

10:49 - something like that?

10:50 - We're continuously looking

10:51 - for for new poll workers.

10:53 - I mean, things

10:54 - happen, people change.

10:55 - And you always

10:56 - need backups as well.

10:57 - One of the things that we

10:59 - saw post 2020 is in Montgomery

11:01 - County is a lot of new

11:02 - people have stepped forward.

11:03 - I don't know how

11:04 - it is in your work,

11:04 - but some of our poll

11:05 - workers have been

11:06 - doing it for 30 or 40 years.

11:09 - It's time for others to

11:10 - step up and do that.

11:11 - I've gone to schools to talk,

11:13 - to talk to, you know, seniors

11:15 - and our colleges

11:16 - about doing it as well

11:17 - and trying to get

11:18 - involved civically.

11:20 - You know, you

11:21 - get a small stipend,

11:22 - but I always say

11:23 - that it's a civic duty.

11:24 - You're doing it out of the love.

11:26 - You're not doing

11:27 - it for that stipend.

11:28 - It's a long day.

11:29 - You're working in

11:30 - pretty good shape.

11:31 - We've built a database.

11:32 - We have close to 4000 folks

11:33 - that have raised their hand

11:34 - and said that will be

11:35 - they'll be poll workers.

11:36 - So we've tried to

11:40 - streamline our

11:40 - process on how we identify

11:42 - and track poll workers.

11:43 - So we built this database,

11:45 - much like Ken mentioned,

11:46 - we're doing a lot of outreach

11:47 - now to students to get them

11:49 - engaged in the process early,

11:51 - working with the

11:52 - school districts

11:53 - to do that and other

11:54 - social type organizations.

11:56 - We've also we

11:57 - know with technology

11:59 - that not everybody

12:00 - can be there in person.

12:01 - So with technology, we've

12:02 - got online training now

12:03 - and in-person training we had

12:05 - we tailor it to the person,

12:06 - what makes sense for them.

12:07 - But we're always looking

12:08 - for poll workers

12:09 - so you can visit our website

12:11 - and get more information.

12:13 - So you can visit the website,

12:14 - come to the county office

12:15 - and be a part of the experience

12:17 - and keep on moving from there.

12:19 - It sounds like anything

12:21 - else that you would

12:22 - you want to talk about

12:23 - as far as the county election

12:24 - experience with us today?

12:26 - You know, it's it's

12:27 - one of the fundamental

12:28 - and most important things

12:29 - that county government does.

12:30 - It it's the bedrock

12:32 - of our democracy.

12:34 - And I'm proud of

12:34 - our committed staff

12:35 - and our voter services office.

12:37 - But all of the

12:37 - citizens that step up

12:39 - to help us run the

12:39 - elections and make sure that

12:41 - our democracy continues on.

12:44 - Yeah, I would say

12:45 - that we are committed

12:46 - to running organized

12:47 - and efficient elections.

12:48 - We are doing the very best

12:49 - we can and navigating a very,

12:51 - very complex process.

12:52 - And for voters

12:53 - that are frustrated,

12:55 - I would just ask,

12:55 - please be patient.

12:56 - This is still a learning

12:57 - curve for all of us.

12:58 - 77 hasn't been in

12:59 - place for all that long.

13:01 - And we're learning together.

13:04 - Well, thank you, Commissioner

13:05 - Ken Lawrence and Montgomery

13:06 - County Commissioner Julie

13:07 - Wheeler from York County.

13:08 - Thank you for being

13:09 - with us here today.

13:10 - When we come back,

13:11 - we'll take a deeper dove

13:13 - into our election process

13:14 - with one of our county

13:16 - election directors.

13:17 - It doesn't matter what

13:18 - part of the state you're from.

13:20 - One thing is certain.

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13:24 - On the first Friday of

13:25 - the month, PCN takes you

13:27 - inside the lines at 6:30 p.m.

13:30 - PC and delivers insight from

13:32 - the people who cover sports

13:33 - from every corner of

13:34 - the Commonwealth.

13:35 - From high school to

13:36 - college to professional sports,

13:38 - TCN takes you inside the lines.

13:42 - Learn more at PC

13:44 - and TVGuide.com.

13:48 - Welcome back to County

13:49 - Connections brought to you

13:50 - by the County Commissioners

13:51 - Association of Pennsylvania.

13:53 - We're here today to talk about

13:55 - county election administration

13:56 - and how we know

13:57 - that your elections are

13:58 - fair, secure and accurate.

14:00 - Joining us now in the

14:01 - studio is Lycoming County

14:02 - director of Elections

14:03 - Forest Lehmann.

14:04 - We'll take a little

14:05 - bit of a deeper

14:05 - dove into the process

14:06 - of how we know

14:07 - that all votes are counted

14:09 - and counted properly for us.

14:11 - We talk with Commissioner

14:12 - Lawrence and Commissioner

14:14 - Wheeler previous to this

14:16 - about how they make sure

14:18 - that every person's

14:19 - vote gets counted.

14:20 - Let's talk a little bit more

14:21 - about the other question

14:22 - that we often hear.

14:23 - How do we know that everybody's

14:25 - vote is only counted once?

14:26 - And we know there's a lot

14:27 - that goes into that

14:28 - from voter registration

14:29 - through the entire

14:30 - elections process.

14:31 - So let's break that down

14:32 - to a few smaller questions.

14:34 - Can you take us through

14:35 - the voter registration process?

14:36 - What happens when

14:37 - somebody applies to vote?

14:39 - Thanks, Lisa.

14:40 - Well, there are several ways

14:42 - people can register to vote.

14:44 - They can register on paper.

14:46 - There are paper

14:47 - applications that are available

14:48 - at county voter

14:49 - registration offices.

14:51 - So we get people

14:52 - coming in that way.

14:53 - People can register at

14:54 - many other state agencies.

14:56 - On paper forms,

14:58 - there's the online

15:00 - option, which we've

15:01 - had for a number of years

15:02 - in the Commonwealth.

15:04 - And then finally there is

15:05 - the motor voter process

15:07 - through PennDOT,

15:08 - where people are renewing

15:10 - or getting their getting

15:11 - a driver's license.

15:12 - They can complete

15:13 - an application there

15:15 - so that that results

15:16 - in a lot of applications

15:19 - from different sources that

15:21 - are all coming in to voter

15:22 - registration offices, either

15:24 - on paper or electronically.

15:26 - And then the

15:27 - counties are processing

15:29 - those, we're reviewing those

15:31 - and then approving them once

15:33 - we're satisfied that the

15:34 - applications are complete

15:36 - and that they are real

15:37 - applicants, that these are real

15:39 - people applying.

15:40 - So there are ID

15:41 - checks that are done.

15:44 - Voters have to

15:45 - provide ID numbers.

15:46 - They have to

15:47 - provide a date of birth.

15:49 - Those are data points

15:50 - that can be cross-checked

15:52 - during the application

15:54 - and processing.

15:56 - And once they pass those

15:57 - checks, then we are able

15:59 - to register that person

16:00 - or make the changes.

16:02 - Or if they're applying

16:03 - for a mail ballot,

16:04 - approve that

16:04 - application as well.

16:07 - So once those

16:07 - applications are approved,

16:08 - it's only those approved voters

16:11 - who are going into

16:12 - the poll books

16:13 - to when for when they show up

16:14 - to the precincts to vote,

16:15 - correct? That's right.

16:17 - I think the commissioners

16:18 - you spoke to

16:19 - earlier were very eloquent

16:20 - and on point about the fact

16:22 - that voter registration

16:24 - happens all year.

16:26 - It's a it's a process

16:27 - that plays out every day

16:28 - because our voters

16:30 - are populations in our

16:31 - counties are like a river.

16:33 - Things are changing every day.

16:34 - People are new.

16:35 - People are registering.

16:36 - People are getting

16:37 - married. They're moving.

16:38 - They're changing their parties.

16:41 - When voters die, we

16:42 - have to cancel them.

16:43 - All that work that

16:44 - we do all year

16:45 - long is preparatory to

16:46 - the moment when, as you

16:48 - mentioned, we print poll

16:49 - books for the election.

16:50 - We want to make sure those

16:52 - poll books are as accurate

16:54 - as possible,

16:55 - that there is an accurate

16:57 - reflection as possible of

16:59 - who is registered,

17:00 - who is eligible

17:00 - going into the primary

17:02 - or the November election.

17:06 - So let's talk a little bit

17:07 - then about those election

17:08 - days, the things that go on.

17:10 - Yes, we talk about

17:11 - voter registration

17:12 - and the votes have been a box.

17:13 - When they show up to the polls

17:14 - and they see the machines,

17:16 - they see their ballots

17:17 - and they they vote

17:18 - and they cast their vote.

17:19 - So what happens?

17:20 - How are those machines,

17:21 - those ballots stored

17:21 - both leading up to Election Day

17:23 - and then once those

17:24 - ballots are cast?

17:26 - Well, the equipment

17:27 - is maintained

17:28 - throughout the

17:29 - year at the county.

17:31 - We test it before

17:32 - the election and after

17:34 - the testing is

17:35 - complete. It is sealed.

17:36 - And every voting system that

17:38 - is used in the commonwealth

17:40 - is is a little different.

17:41 - We have about five different

17:43 - voting systems in

17:44 - the Commonwealth,

17:45 - but they all

17:46 - are able to be locked and

17:47 - sealed via various means.

17:49 - And so there can be locking

17:51 - compartments, there can be

17:53 - places where what are called

17:55 - security seals are attached.

17:56 - So it might look

17:57 - just like a zip tie,

17:59 - but it has a unique

18:00 - number on it.

18:02 - And in our county and I

18:03 - believe in all the others

18:05 - in different ways, we

18:07 - document those SEAL numbers.

18:10 - That's how we practice what

18:11 - is called chain of custody.

18:13 - So the machine

18:14 - is sealed, the seal.

18:15 - SEAL numbers are

18:16 - applied. They're known.

18:18 - They're reported

18:18 - to the poll workers.

18:20 - So when the poll

18:21 - workers get that equipment

18:22 - and they're using it,

18:24 - they can look at that SEAL

18:25 - number and know that it matches

18:27 - what we told them

18:28 - to expect to see.

18:29 - And they know that

18:30 - that equipment is intact

18:32 - since we passed it to them.

18:34 - Similarly, when

18:36 - they're done with that

18:37 - equipment after the election,

18:40 - they put a new seal

18:41 - on the equipment,

18:42 - they lock it back up

18:43 - and they tell us those SEAL

18:45 - numbers on their paperwork.

18:47 - So when we get

18:48 - the equipment back,

18:49 - it stays sealed for 20

18:50 - days following the election.

18:52 - And we are able to verify the

18:54 - SEAL numbers and

18:55 - know that similarly

18:56 - chain of custody was

18:57 - maintained from

18:58 - the polling place

19:00 - back to the county.

19:02 - So there are physical

19:03 - processes that are in place

19:06 - and in addition to that,

19:07 - there are electronic processes

19:09 - that are in place because the

19:11 - the equipment is is itself

19:13 - protected by passwords.

19:15 - You have to be able

19:16 - to authenticate in order

19:17 - to access it.

19:19 - Obviously, county election

19:22 - administrators like

19:23 - myself have a lot of access.

19:25 - However, voters

19:26 - don't have any access

19:28 - and poll workers have only

19:30 - the access that they need.

19:32 - Limited access in order

19:33 - to open and close the polls.

19:35 - So it is a combination

19:36 - of physical

19:37 - and electronic safeguards

19:39 - that is in place around

19:41 - the ballot scanners, the

19:43 - the ballot marking devices

19:44 - for voters with disabilities.

19:46 - All of that equipment that is

19:47 - sent out to the polling place

19:50 - and this testing and sealing

19:51 - all these processes, that's

19:52 - something that takes

19:53 - place before every election.

19:55 - That's right.

19:55 - Every election we test,

19:57 - every piece of equipment

19:59 - before we send it out to verify

20:01 - that it is it is in good order.

20:04 - It is functioning correctly.

20:07 - It is counting

20:07 - ballots correctly.

20:09 - We put a number of ballots

20:10 - through every piece of equipment

20:12 - to verify that that it

20:13 - is counting correctly.

20:15 - And then after that

20:16 - testing is complete,

20:17 - that's when the SEALs

20:18 - and the locks are applied,

20:20 - and it is maintained

20:21 - in that state

20:22 - until it is sent out to

20:23 - the polls for the election.

20:25 - So Commissioner Lawrence

20:26 - talked a lot about poll watchers

20:28 - and folks who can be

20:29 - there to watch process.

20:29 - And it sounds like there's

20:30 - a lot of sets of eyes,

20:31 - even though there might be

20:33 - only limited access

20:34 - based on need,

20:35 - as you talked about.

20:36 - It sounds like there's

20:37 - a lot of opportunities

20:37 - for for observation

20:39 - and eyes to be on the

20:40 - process to make sure that

20:41 - that everything is

20:42 - going as you expected.

20:43 - So is that correct?

20:45 - That's right.

20:46 - In fact,

20:46 - many parts of the election

20:48 - process are open to observation.

20:52 - Sometimes that observation

20:54 - is limited to individuals who

20:56 - have standing in the sense

20:58 - that they may have been

21:00 - appointed by a candidate

21:02 - or a party.

21:04 - But events such as

21:05 - testing the equipment

21:07 - in the way I've described

21:08 - before the election that can be

21:10 - observed by party committees,

21:11 - party representatives.

21:14 - The the actual activity out

21:16 - at the polls on Election Day

21:18 - watchers can be

21:19 - present inside the polls

21:21 - under certain circumstances

21:23 - if they've been appointed

21:24 - by a by a party or a candidate.

21:27 - There are opportunities

21:29 - for individuals to observe

21:32 - canvasing activities

21:33 - after the election.

21:35 - So after Election Day, there's

21:37 - obviously additional work

21:39 - that needs to be done

21:40 - when counties are reconciling

21:43 - ballot inventory from

21:44 - the from the precincts.

21:46 - We're making sure every single

21:47 - paper ballot is accounted for.

21:50 - We are canvasing provisional

21:51 - ballots after the election.

21:53 - And so when those

21:54 - activities are underway, party

21:57 - and candidate representatives

21:58 - would have opportunities

21:59 - to observe that as well.

22:02 - So speaking of what

22:04 - happens after the election,

22:06 - we often hear that

22:06 - that there are audits

22:08 - done of the election results

22:10 - and what they mean as you

22:11 - are finalizing election results.

22:13 - So how does

22:14 - how do you and how

22:15 - do the counties use

22:16 - those audits

22:16 - to process and verify that

22:18 - each election is accurate?

22:20 - Well, those

22:21 - post-election reviews,

22:23 - those audits are very important

22:26 - because I've alluded

22:27 - several times to the testing

22:29 - we do before the

22:30 - election that tells us

22:31 - that the equipment was

22:32 - accurate before we sealed it.

22:34 - When we do the audits

22:36 - after the election, we're now

22:38 - doing a review of

22:39 - actual election results.

22:41 - And we want to know

22:42 - that the equipment

22:44 - is producing consistently

22:45 - accurate results.

22:47 - There are a few different

22:49 - processes that we employ.

22:51 - One is required by

22:52 - the election code,

22:55 - which is that we recount

22:57 - a percentage of all

22:58 - the ballots cast

22:59 - in the election.

23:01 - That requirement is is 2%.

23:04 - We will recount those

23:06 - ballots on different equipment

23:08 - than what they were

23:09 - originally counted on.

23:10 - So it is giving us

23:11 - a a second opinion

23:13 - on the count of those ballots.

23:14 - And when counties

23:16 - pick those batches,

23:17 - we know what those

23:18 - numbers add up to

23:20 - and we want to see them

23:21 - come out the same way.

23:22 - If we scan them a second time.

23:25 - So that is one

23:26 - check that is done.

23:28 - The other that counties

23:29 - have been doing more recently

23:32 - is we are engaging in

23:33 - what is called a post-election

23:35 - risk limiting audit.

23:37 - And in the risk limiting audit,

23:40 - you are looking at

23:41 - it as an entire state.

23:43 - We're taking selections of our

23:44 - ballots from across the state.

23:47 - One county might do a batch

23:48 - and other county

23:49 - would do a batch.

23:50 - And those are hand counts.

23:52 - They're hand reviews.

23:54 - It might be one contest.

23:56 - It might be

23:57 - more than one contest,

23:59 - but you're hand counting

24:00 - those marked ballots

24:02 - and you're looking to see

24:04 - that those results came out

24:05 - the same as they

24:06 - were on Election Day.

24:08 - And then when you're

24:10 - doing it as an entire state,

24:12 - you are able

24:12 - to look at a statewide contest

24:14 - and arrive at a very high degree

24:16 - of confidence that the outcome

24:18 - of that contest was correct.

24:20 - And also to be able to know

24:21 - that the that the equipment

24:23 - is counting correctly as well.

24:26 - So based on all of this,

24:29 - you go to a lot of testing

24:30 - going through ceiling.

24:31 - There's a lot of watching.

24:33 - We do the audits, the back end.

24:34 - How confident are you

24:36 - that all of those processes

24:37 - lead to a fair, secure

24:38 - and accurate election?

24:40 - I'm very confident and

24:41 - you know, that confidence.

24:44 - It is based on the evidence

24:46 - that counties have accumulated

24:50 - of years now of

24:51 - pre-election testing

24:54 - and post-election audits.

24:56 - The entire Commonwealth

24:58 - has been using paper ballots

25:00 - since 2019. So we've had

25:03 - several years now of elections

25:06 - and in all of those years in

25:07 - which we have conducted

25:09 - pre-election testing,

25:10 - in which we have done

25:12 - post-election audits, reviews,

25:14 - to compare those results

25:16 - to what what came

25:17 - out of election night

25:19 - in every circumstance

25:21 - those results have checked out.

25:24 - And so it has been

25:26 - a process of years

25:28 - of accumulated evidence

25:29 - that gives me that confidence

25:32 - that I do believe that

25:33 - the equipment produces

25:35 - consistently accurate results.

25:37 - Now, it always

25:38 - depends on counties

25:40 - following the processes

25:41 - of the election code.

25:43 - You know, we have an

25:44 - obligation to, you

25:45 - know, administer

25:46 - the election code and

25:48 - and administer court

25:49 - rulings fairly and uniformly.

25:52 - But that's how we

25:53 - can get to that place.

25:55 - And just one last

25:56 - quick question.

25:56 - So if

25:57 - a voter would have questions,

25:58 - they think they see

25:59 - something that's maybe not

26:00 - what they would expect

26:01 - to see or something

26:02 - that isn't following processes.

26:04 - What should they do?

26:05 - Well, contacting their county

26:07 - is always a good first step.

26:09 - Sometimes a voter's

26:12 - confusion or question

26:13 - is really just a result of

26:16 - not being fully informed, and

26:17 - we can help them with that.

26:19 - You know, most people, they

26:20 - may get educated in school

26:22 - about how government

26:23 - works, but they

26:23 - don't necessarily

26:24 - get an education about

26:25 - how elections work

26:27 - because the processes can

26:28 - be arcane and complicated.

26:30 - So we can certainly

26:31 - answer those questions.

26:32 - We want people to be

26:33 - informed and knowledgeable

26:36 - so that confusion doesn't

26:38 - turn into suspicion or

26:40 - or discontent or dismay.

26:43 - Well, thank you for us

26:44 - for taking the time today

26:45 - to help us better understand

26:47 - our county election processes.

26:49 - And to our earlier

26:49 - guests, as well, for talking

26:51 - about how our elections

26:52 - are fair, secure and accurate.

26:54 - Thank you for watching.

26:55 - County Connections.

26:57 - Brought to you by the

26:58 - County Commissioners

26:59 - Association of Pennsylvania.

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