BUTLER COUNTY, Pa. — Frustrating, eye-opening and concerning: That’s how some voters are describing the mail-in ballot situation in Butler County.
Thousands have requested a ballot but have not received theirs yet with only 20 days left until Election Day.
“It’s less than a month away and I haven’t received anything yet so it’s definitely concerning,” Rob Shull said.
Shull requested his absentee ballot almost two months ago and is frustrated he still hasn’t received one yet.
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“So not having that definitely makes me concerned my voice won’t be heard and my vote won’t count,” Shull said.
According to election officials, about 15,000 people who requested a mail-in ballot in Butler County haven’t gotten theirs yet, including Anne Miller.
“I decided to request one this year really because of the pandemic situation. I’m just not comfortable going inside a building with a lot of people,” Miller said.
Another Butler County resident sent us screenshots showing their ballot application status was approved almost five weeks ago but nothing has come in the mail.
Turns out some people who plan to vote in person this year and did so in the last election received an absentee ballot without requesting one. One of them is a man we spoke with today, who didn’t want to be identified on camera.
“I actually received an absentee ballot in the mail. My father has as well and a few friends and we all find this very concerning because we never requested one,” he said. “Receiving this in the mail was concerning. Makes me want to vote even more in person”
We reached out to the Butler County Elections office. Aaron Sheasley, the director of elections, sent us a lengthy statement saying as of Thursday, they’ve received close to 40,000 mail-in ballot requests and have sent more than 25,000 ballots out so far.
Sheasley said they are sending out large quantities every day, and are in the final stretch. Voters should look for ballots in the coming days.
He also said one of the major issues is that a number of applications are duplicate requests, so they have to process each application to determine if it’s a new one or a duplicate.
If you haven’t received your ballot, he said not to worry. Those who requested one will get theirs and will have enough time to vote.
The deadline to apply for a mail in ballot is Oct. 27. The deadline to return it is having it post marked by Election Day.
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