What to know about Centre County’s satellite elections office on Penn State’s campus
Centre County voters looking to drop off or apply for a mail-in ballot this year have a new place to do so with the opening of a satellite elections office on Penn State’s campus.
Located in the lounge of the Kunkle Activity Center in the Hammond Building at the corner of Allen Street and College Avenue, Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt was on hand Monday to unveil the College Avenue Satellite Elections Office, which was approved by the county’s elections board late last month.
“When I ran elections in Philadelphia County, we opened up a number of these offices and it was a really great improvement, I think, in terms of the level of accessibility — voters can just show up and return their ballot,” Schmidt said. “It also benefits in-person voting, because there’s one fewer person in line in front of you at the elections office.”
The purpose of the temporary office is to provide residents a place to easily register to vote, sign up for a mail-in ballot and fill out/drop off their mail-in ballots at one secure location. Though it’s located on campus, the services aren’t limited to Penn State staff and students, but to any voters registered in Centre County (or looking to register to vote in the county).
Voters who want to apply for, and use, a mail-in ballot at the office must speak with the employees working at the office’s check-in, located near the Hammond Building’s exit that faces the Pattee Mall. Voters must be at least 18 years old and must have lived for at least 30 days in their respective precinct.
Penn State students looking to apply a mail-in ballot can do so using the the address of their residence at the university.
Once the mail-in ballot registration paperwork is complete, the application will be processed at the counter. Once processed, an employee will hand the voter a mail-in ballot and the voter will be directed to a separate, cubicle-filled room where ballots can be filled out privately.
After the ballot is filled out, it will then be returned to an employee, who will place the ballot in a secure receptacle. The ballots will remain there until a county official picks them up and delivers them to Bellefonte elections office.
“The goal of this office is to provide convenient access for voters in a location that is both the population and employment center of the county, as well as the location with the highest concentration of new voters who may have questions for staff about the voting process,” Commissioner Amber Concepcion said. “This office will provide for convenient one-stop voting as registered voters can walk in to request a mail-in ballot, complete their ballot in privacy, and return their ballot to a strong and secure receptacle.”
The space that the satellite office sits in was donated without cost to the county by Penn State, but there are still fees that come with the new office, including a $7,809 charge for the purchase and installment of additional security cameras.
A crew of temporary staff members have also been hired to work at the new office, although the total number and cost was not immediately available.
The county is working closely with PSU Votes, an organization that helps provide information to help students prepare for and participate in elections, to help spread the word to students about the new satellite office, Concepcion said.
The county’s elections board, which includes the three county commissioners, approved the satellite elections office on Sept. 27 in a 2-1 vote, with Concepcion and Higgins in favor and Commissioner Steve Dershem opposed. Dershem voiced concerns about the impact of “last-minute changes” to the county’s election process.
At the meeting, more than 30 residents spoke both for and against the office. Some in opposition, including state Sen. Cris Dush, R-Brookville, said the location on campus was unfair to rural voters.
But Commissioner Mark Higgins said during Monday’s event that the location of the office is strategic — it’s found at the “center of the Centre Region,” and provides easy access to an important voting resource for a high population of people to use.
“There are 95,000 citizens living in the State College area. Penn State has 22,000 employees at the University Park campus ... in addition, thousands of people work in downtown State College,” Higgins said. “On top of those numbers, there are many people who come to State College to run errands or go shopping.”
The satellite office will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on the following dates, unless stated otherwise:
- Monday, Oct. 14
- Wednesday, Oct. 16
- Friday, Oct. 18
- Saturday, Oct. 19 (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
- Tuesday, Oct. 22
- Wednesday, Oct. 23
- Thursday, Oct 24
- Friday, Oct. 25
- Monday, Oct. 28
- Tuesday, Oct. 29 (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.)
For more information about the office, visit centrecountyvotes.gov/satelliteoffice.
The deadline to register to vote is 5 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 21. The deadline to apply for an absentee or mail-in ballot is 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5.
This story was originally published October 14, 2024 at 4:52 PM.