Apr. 11, 2022

HARRISBURG – Rep. Russ Diamond (R-Lebanon) on Wednesday, during a hearing on election readiness, expressed concern to Department of State officials about reports and video of people depositing armloads of what appear to be voting ballots into unmonitored ballot drop-boxes during the 2021 election, but state officials say there are no plans to require monitoring of drop boxes going forward.

The video in question, posted on Diamond’s Facebook page, was obtained by the Montgomery County Republican Committee through a right-to-know request. It shows a single person placing what appears to be at least a dozen ballots into a ballot drop box at the Upper Dublin Library on Nov. 2, 2021. 

Pennsylvania voters are only allowed to place their own ballot in drop boxes.

Diamond asked Jonathan Marks, deputy secretary of elections and commissions at the Pennsylvania Department of State, if there were any plans to require monitoring of drop boxes going forward, noting that the only guidance for drop boxes currently on DOS’s website is in the archived section dated Aug. 19, 2020, which refers to drop boxes as “secure receptacles.”

“Archived would be guidance that’s either out of date or that we’re currently reviewing to make updates to,” Marks said. “We’re not going to be issuing new guidance unless things change – I mean we still have litigation regarding dates on envelopes and other things that are going on and we have the Act 77 litigation, so we may have to respond to things.”

Pointing out the current archived guidance for drop boxes has lawsuits pending against it that have raised real problems that are not yet settled, Diamond asked Marks if updated guidance for drop boxes would be issued before the 2022 primary election.

“Are we going to have updated guidance before the May 17 primary, or just let it hang out there in the wind for now,” Diamond asked.

Other than perhaps little “tweaks” Marks said no updated guidance on drop boxes are planned “unless there is an adverse ruling from the court.”

To watch video of the back and forth between Diamond and Marks, click here.




Representative Russ Diamond
102nd Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Charles Lardner
717.260.6443
clardner@pahousegop.com
RepDiamond.com /  Facebook.com/RepDiamond
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