DA Jim Martin is right again about securing ballot boxes. But his fear-mongering is disappointing
By Paul Muschick
To the chagrin of many people, I supported District Attorney Jim Martin when he deployed detectives to monitor ballot drop boxes before the primary election.
As Lehigh County's top law enforcement officer, I argued, it was his duty to act after evidence surfaced that hundreds of voters broke the law by putting more than one mail ballot in boxes during last November's election.
The critics surely don't want to hear this, but the ruckus that Martin raised worked.
There appeared to be a minimal number of infractions during the primary, based on a review of video surveillance, Martin said in a letter to county officials Monday. And when detectives were present at the five drop boxes, they saw no violations.
Now Martin, a Republican, wants to tighten the system even further. His latest suggestion also is sensible, though I think he went overboard when offering his reasoning for it.
In his letter, he repeated his previous recommendation that the county limit the drop box at the government center at Seventh and Hamilton streets to business hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays.
It was disappointing when the county election board opted Tuesday to keep the box open around the clock.
The county's other four drop boxes, which are located at government buildings in Whitehall, Wescosville, Fountain Hill and Macungie, all will close at 5 p.m. and on weekends. Why should the one at the government center be any different?
Drop boxes all should be monitored and it's impractical to do that for 24 hours..
Martin didn't need to resort to fear-mongering to make his case, though.
In Monday's letter to the county executive and election board, he said keeping the government center drop box open after dark is "an unwarranted invitation to would-be criminals and, in my opinion, presents a danger to public safety."
"Those utilizing that drop box are parking on South Seventh Street and walking in darkness to the slot in the wall and returning to their vehicles. And, because sheriffs are absent from the lobby after 5 p.m., there will be no one to whom an alarm could be raised," Martin said.
Portraying Allentown's central business district as unsafe at night is a cheap shot. The businesses and venues there deserve better.
Does Martin feel the same about restaurants and bars that are open after dark there? How about the PPL Center that's right across the street? Are they also setting their patrons up to be mugged? Should their hours be limited to daylight, too?
Drop box at the Lehigh County Government Center as seen on May 6 before the primary election. (Rick Kintzel/The Morning Call)
Having a drop box that's open 24 hours is rare in the Lehigh Valley region. For the May primary, there were no 24-hour drop boxes in Northampton, Monroe or Berks counties.
It's just not necessary.
When supporting Martin's surveillance of drop boxes in the spring, I called on other counties to follow his lead. At least one other in the Lehigh Valley area is.
On Friday, Monroe County District Attorney E. David Christine Jr. announced he had ordered law enforcement to "keep a vigilant eye on any potential voter fraud."
Christine said he had authorized "various forms of surveillance" and there will be a focus on drop boxes, which for the primary were located at the county administration building, a community center and five libraries.
"Voters are reminded that the drop box is considered a polling place. As such, it is the voter, absent extenuating circumstances, who must cast their own ballot into the drop box. Casting another's ballot is a violation of the law, except in those limited circumstances permitted by the Election Code," Christine, a Republican, said in a statement.
The exception is for disabled people. They can designate another person to request and/or return their mail ballot. The designation must be done in writing, though, on a "designated agent form" returned to the county election office.
That form is available online through the Pennsylvania Department of State (dos.pa.gov).
[ Is it really a big deal that voters drop off more than one ballot? ]
Limiting drop boxes to business hours would not prevent people from voting with a mail ballot.
In the May primary, 76% of the mail ballots that were returned in Lehigh County were returned through the mail.
Mail service certainly isn't as reliable as it should be, but if voters fill out their ballot as soon as they get it and drop it in the mail, it should arrive on time.
For those who don't trust the mail, if they can't get to a drop box, they can vote in person.
If you take your unused mail ballot and envelopes to your polling place, you can surrender them and vote there. I did that in the primary election because my ballot arrived too late for me to trust the mail to get it returned on time.
If you don't surrender your ballot, you still can vote in person at the polls but will have to use a provisional ballot. Once it is determined that your mail ballot was not returned, the provisional ballot will be counted.
In his letter Monday, Martin called on Lehigh elections officials to take over the job of monitoring drop boxes, using some of the $1.2 million in funding it received for mail voting. He doesn't believe detectives or sheriff's deputies should police the system.
I don't see that happening.
Elections workers already are taxed to the breaking point. They can't handle additional duties. So I hope Martin continues with his monitoring, even expands it, if his request is denied.
Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin, as seen in a 2019 file photo. (EMILY PAINE / MORNING CALL File Photo)
Morning Call columnist Paul Muschick can be reached at 610-820-6582 or paul.muschick@mcall.com