The new satellite elections office on Penn State’s University Park campus is now open. The office will help students and community members register to vote, sign up for a mail-in ballot, and submit ballots early. Those ballots can’t be counted until Election Day.
Republican Secretary of State Al Schmidt, who spoke at Monday's opening at the Hammond Building, said satellite offices like this one improve voter accessibility.
“It also benefits in-person voting, because there's one fewer person in line in front of you on Election Day," Schmidt said.
Schmidt said there can be longer lines at polling places near universities like Penn State.
Some community members previously asked why county commissioners aren’t putting satellite elections offices in rural areas outside of State College instead.
Democrat Mark Higgins is chair of the Centre County Commissioners. He said the Penn State region has the highest population density in the county.
“Everyone in the county needs to realize that without Penn State University, this whole county would just be a wide spot on the road between, say, Williamsport and Altoona," Higgins said.
There is voter registration and mail-in ballot assistance at Centre County Senior Centers as well, but they do not have the same level of support as a satellite elections office. Voters cannot currently drop off their ballots at those senior centers.
Higgins said they are interested in creating satellite elections offices in rural areas in the future. But he said there are logistical challenges, such as having enough staff and finding handicap accessible buildings.
The Centre County satellite elections office is in the Kunkle Activities Center in Penn State’s Hammond Building. You can find the office’s hours of operation online.
