Pennsylvania election officials discuss trust in upcoming elections

(WHTM) – Pennsylvania will play a big role in choosing the next president. In a special edition of This Week in Pennsylvania, Dennis Owens sits down with election directors to discuss the election process.

They talked about why they want voters to trust the system.

“The elections are run by your neighbors,” said Sean Drasher, Lebanon County’s Election Director. “We’re all local in your town. And we are the ones programming the machines. We are. We’re the ones actually programming the machines. We and your people, in your neighborhood are the ones who are actually counting the the ballots. This is all local in Pennsylvania.”

Thad Hall, the Election Director for Mercer County, said local officials know the full chain of custody for ballots in their area.

“We know the chain of custody of your machines. We know the chain of custody for everything that we’re doing. You know, when the ballot boxes come back on election night, they’re all sealed until 20 days after the election. So we’re not opening them up.”

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJET/WFXP/YourErie.com.