Centre County receives grant funded by Facebook CEO to help cover upcoming election costs
Centre County voters should be getting their ballots in the mail in two weeks, following certification from the Pennsylvania Department of State — just in time to deposit them in one of the eight secure ballot drop boxes slated for use.
As of Monday, the Office of Elections and Voter Registration has received 26,067 vote-by-mail applications, according to county data. In preparation, the Board of Elections met Tuesday to discuss the November general election and announced that the county will receive $863,828 in funds from a Center for Tech and Civic Life grant to help cover expenses.
“That will pretty much pay for the entire election process for the November general,” Commissioner and Board of Elections Chair Steve Dershem said.
The funds were made available after Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, committed $250 million to CTCL. The grant was available to all local election jurisdictions throughout the United States, and its funds are to be used to cover the cost of staffing, training and equipment necessary for the election.
“Typically when we get grants, it’s tax money. This is not tax money,” Commissioner Michael Pipe said. “This is a philanthropic donation from Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan — Facebook — so this is one of the first times that we get this amount of money that’s not taxpayer funds.”
The grant may not be used to pay for salaries or items already budgeted by the county for the election.
Pipe said the county anticipates its portion of the money will go toward covering the costs of seven drop boxes — which cost about $2,200 each — vote-by mail, early voting and poll worker safety.
“I don’t see us spending $800,000, but we certainly have some ... wiggle room,” Dershem said.
Last week, the Board of Elections approved a plan in a 2-1 vote that proposes the installation of seven secure ballot return sites, a potential satellite elections office at the Bryce Jordan Center and free rides to individuals 60 and older who would like to return their ballots to a certified county drop box.
This story was originally published September 22, 2020 at 4:26 PM.
