LEBANON COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) – A new way of tracking mail-in ballots will soon be a reality in Lebanon County after a vote at the tail end of last week.

“We currently track ballot packages and this is one that go out to voters and we track them on their way to the voter,” Sean Drasher, director of elections for the county, said. “That’s a very interesting and helpful way to see where exactly it is in the postal flow.”

The county couldn’t follow the ballot’s progress once the voter sent it back in the mail. That’ll change this upcoming election.

“There will be a small barcode on here that we’ll use for postal tracking,” Drasher said. “That’ll have it going in both directions. It’s a nice little extra bit of security for the voter.”

Drasher will be able to track mail-in ballots using a database.

Voters get up until seven days of the election to request a mail-in ballot, which can be concerning with how long the postal service time takes.

“That’s relevant when you get to the last week before the election,” Drasher said. “So if you are seven days out and we know it’s taking us seven days, just on average just to get it to the voter, then that’s a problem.”

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Folks can still come in ahead of time to pick up their mail-in ballot in person or fill it out at home and drop it off at the county’s courthouse.

The cost isn’t a high number.

“To add the additional cost in to what we’re already spending is going to be about $0.10 per unit. So not a not a big impact for us,” Drasher said.

A dime per ballot. Drasher estimates that 12,000 mail-in ballots will be requested for November’s election. That puts the overall cost at a little over a thousand dollars.

“We want people to have confidence that everything is being done to the best of our ability,” Commissioner Jo Ellen Litz said.

Litz approved the move. She believes time will be saved and it will help election staff.

“I just think it takes a lot of stress off of our staff,” Litz said.

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