After a 2019 law that allows every Pennsylvania resident to vote by mail, Montgomery County is preparing for the influx of mail ballots in the November election by purchasing new equipment and planning to count the ballots around the clock, writes Jonathan Lai for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The primary election in June provided a preview of what might happen in November, as coronavirus-related fears over voting in-person prompted a massive surge in mail ballots. This was significantly beyond what was expected.

At the time, Montgomery County had five high-speed scanners ready. Now, it has purchased five more to avoid a long, drawn-out vote-counting process.

“We knew we would have to double our capacity here in terms of equipment and staff,” said Lee Soltysiak, Montgomery County’s chief operating officer and clerk of the elections board.

Meanwhile the county has bought 15 ballot extraction tables for the November election, which open the envelopes and remove ballots from them.

The county is also increasing staff working on vote counting to be able to count the ballots in several shifts around the clock.

Read more about the preparations for the election at The Philadelphia Inquirer by clicking here.

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