HOLLIDAYSBURG — Blair County voters who have asked for absentee and mail-in ballots should begin receiving them in about a week.

Solicitor Nathan Karn said Tuesday that after the absentee and mail-in ballots were printed, efforts were initiated to make sure their coding worked with the county’s vote scanning equipment.

The issues that have surfaced should be rectified soon, allowing the ballot distribution to begin, Karn said.

“Within the week, we’re hopeful that they’ll be in the mail,” he added.

Like all Pennsylvania counties, Blair couldn’t arrange for ballots to be printed until after the state Supreme Court decided whether or not the Green Party’s presidential candidate should remain on the ballot.

The court decided on Sept. 17 to remove the candidate. Reversing a lower court ruling, the state’s highest court found that the Green Party candidate did not strictly follow procedures to be among candidates on the November ballot.

Commissioner Amy Webster said during Tuesday’s commissioners meeting that voters receiving mail-in and absentee ballots still have the option of voting in person if they want. To do so, she said they should take their blank mail-in or absentee ballot, showing no votes cast, along with the ballot envelope, to their voting location. She said that those in charge of the polls will be instructed on how to permit people to vote.

The alternative, Webster said, will be for that voter to cast a provisional ballot, which is subject to further review.

Karn said that one more alternative is for a voter, through the www.votesPA.com website, to cancel his or her request for a mail-in or absentee ballot.

Commissioner Laura Burke said Tuesday that anyone who isn’t registered to vote in the November election has until Oct. 19 to register. Those who turn 18 years old between Oct. 19 and Nov. 3 also qualify, she said.

Karn said that while the state Supreme Court’s recent ruling also permits the use of drop boxes to collect ballots, he’s recommending against them for November. Their use is still an issue of federal litigation that probably won’t be addressed until mid-October, Karn said.

Some eastern Pennsylvania counties are already moving ahead with plans for drop boxes. Lehigh County announced last week that it will set up five boxes outside municipal buildings during the last two weeks of October.

Karn said the state issued an eight-page document with guidance addressing ballot drop boxes and their locations.

“It’s not as simple as setting up a box at the mall or at Logan Town Centre,” Karn said.

A Blair County voter who wants to avoid the mail and present their mail-in or absentee ballot in person can deliver the voted ballot to the courthouse. On Election Day, a voter will have the option of submitting a completed ballot to a county elections representative on the Union Street side of the courthouse.

Commissioners Chairman Bruce Erb acknowledged several factors contributing to the county’s efforts to be ready for the Nov. 2 election. He mentioned the contested presidential race, the introduction of laws to allow more mailed ballots, litigation issues and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

“This is an election year like no other,” Erb said.

Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 946-7456.