Election officials in Schuylkill County seem confident that Tuesday’s big vote should go off without a hitch.
A massive turnout is likely, just as there was in 2020 when 80% of registered voters here cast a ballot for President of the United States.
About one-fourth of those were mail-in ballots but a majority of locals turned up to the polls that day to cast their ballot the traditional way, too.
There aren’t as many mail-in ballot requests for Tuesday’s General Election so it’s likely going to be even busier at the 125 polling locations across Schuylkill County this year.
Schuylkill County Election Bureau director Al Gricoski said late last week that his office had received more than 12,000 completed mail-in ballots of the more than 16,000 requested.
“We’re very hopeful that everybody is safe, secure, and they’re patient as they go to the polling site so that everybody has the opportunity to vote,” he said.
Security Measures in Place
Security for the 2024 General Election has been heightened somewhat in Schuylkill County.
The STS headquarters where votes are tabulated after polls close on Tuesday night was secured on Monday.
Gricoski said, “In Schuylkill County, we’re very fortunate that we do not have a lot of those overzealous people going around and causing trouble.”
He says the Election Bureau has reached out to the Schuylkill County Office of Emergency Management, the Sheriff’s Office, and local police departments countywide to be on “a little bit higher alert” on Election Day.
Counting Should Be Completed on Election Day
If counting the votes from the 2024 Election drags on in Pennsylvania like it did in 2024, it likely won’t be because of Schuylkill County.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Gricoski expects to get all the votes counted tonight. And if it takes a little more time, he said Election officials at the STS building will keep counting until all votes are tabulated.
“We’re all there to do our job and to make sure that we have a safe, secure, and accurate election,” Gricoski said.
They’ll begin counting the mail-in and absentee ballots beginning at 7 a.m. Tuesday, when precinct polls open for the day.
After 8 p.m., when polls close, precinct officials will begin the process of securing all the ballots and equipment and taking it to the STS headquarters so the votes can be recorded and totaled.
You can follow all the local election results from Schuylkill County at Coal Region Canary. We’ll be updating throughout Election Day and into the wee hours as votes are counted here and nationwide. Updates will be posted at our site here and on social media sites Facebook and X.
SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 2024 GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS
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