Politics & Government
Bucks Co. Adds 4th Ballot Drop Box For May Primaries
The drop box, at Yardley-Makefield Free Library, is at the first of what officials expect to be several new locations before November.
BUCKS COUNTY, PA — Bucks County voters will have access to a fourth ballot drop box in time for Pennsylvania's primary elections on May 18.
Adding the new box is part of a partnership with the Bucks County Free Library system and it will be located at the Yardley-Makefield Free Library in Lower Makefield.
The new location was approved by the Bucks County Board of Elections on Monday in a 2-1 vote.
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The Lower Makefield location will feature a ballot drop box with a security camera, a Board of Elections staff member on site and a daily pickup of ballots, commissioners announced. The hours of operation have not yet been announced.
The drop box will be in addition to Bucks County's three previous boxes, at county offices in Quakertown, Doylestown and Levittown.
Find out what's happening in Yardleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
In last year's elections, including the presidential vote in November, early-voting ballot drop off boxes were widely used in Bucks County due to concerns about the spread of the coronavirus. In the presidential election, roughly 200,000 people opted to vote by absentee or mail-in ballot.
Bucks officials say the Yardley-Makefield Library was chosen for a new location because data from the 2020 General Election showed a large number of voters from that area used mail-in ballots.
The election board's two Democratic members, county commissioners Diane M. Ellis-Marseglia and Bob Harvie, voted in favor of adding the new box while its lone Republican, Commissioner Gene DiGirolamo, voted no.
Marseglia and Harvie have said they are committed to adding more drop boxes before the November general election. The board has instructed staff members to present a plan for that, identifying new locations and security measures.
"We understand voters will continue to increase usage of the mail-in voting option with each election," said Harvie, who chairs the elections board. "We are committed to ensuring that whichever method a voter chooses to exercise their right to vote, they may do so securely as well as conveniently."
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