New Centre County Elections van makes public debut at Grange Fair. What to know
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Centre County unveiled a mobile elections van at this year’s Grange Fair.
- The van enables voter registration, ballot access and outreach to rural areas.
- Officials plan full deployment for fall 2025 after completing final tech upgrades.
The Centre County Office of Elections unveiled a new mobile asset at this year’s Grange Fair that officials believe will help make elections run more smoothly across the county.
The mobile satellite office, which was first discussed by the commissioners in early May, is a former county transportation van that underwent an $11,500 repurposing. It can now provide election-related services remotely, such as providing and receiving voter registration forms and mail-in ballot applications to the county’s rural areas and senior centers.
The van is the second of its kind in Pennsylvania, with Montgomery County’s election van being the first.
According to County Transportation Director Dave Lomison, who accompanied the van Thursday at the Grange Fair, the mobile satellite office would likely be visiting places like Snow Shoe, Pine Glen, Philipsburg, the Penns Valley area and more.
“Obviously we don’t know how people are going to react to [the satellite office], but I’m pretty hopeful that it’s going be well-received,” Lomison said. “It’s not necessarily something that’s particularly favoring one party or the other too — this van is for everyone who might need it, regardless.”
It was also shared in May that the van could be used to assist Penn State students with voting services as well, with the county currently being unsure whether it will bring back last year’s on-campus satellite elections office.
While the van isn’t a finished product yet, Lomison said that it’s nearly there and will be 100% ready for the fall election.
Some of the new tech that the van has been, or is going to be, equipped with a camera system, a drop box for mail-in ballots and power outlets, which will then be used to set up computers and printers.
At the commissioners’ meeting on May 6, they expressed hope the van would serve as an impetus to get more people out and voting, once they saw how easy it was.
“I think that [the van] will sort of be, in some ways, a PR push for voting itself, the importance of voting, the importance of being involved in your community in that way, and it will make it easier at the same time,” Commissioner Amber Concepcion said in May.
While a set schedule for the van’s future stops remains in flux, additional information about the van’s schedule will be shared at future commissioners meetings, which take place at 10 a.m. every Tuesday at the Willowbank Building.
