Williamsport, Pa. — Lycoming County’s Office of Voter Services just wrapped up their busy season — but big projects are still underway.
Forrest Lehman, the director of the office, came to today’s County Commissioners’ meeting to open the bid for polling place ADA renovations.
Lehman stated that there are 30 polling locations in the county that “have plans for improvements” to become more accessible to voters with disabilities. Renovations are currently expected to cost “a few hundred thousand dollars” according to Lehman. A more specific figure was not provided.
The director explained that the Department of Justice (DoJ) approached the county, requesting that efforts be made to make sure that these voting facilities are accessible, focusing on areas that voters will most likely interact with, such as parking lots, entrances, and the areas that voting booths are located. Lycoming County was the “11th or 12th” county that the DoJ approached out of Pa.’s 67 counties, Lehman recounted.
This isn’t the first time the voting office brought forth a request for improving polling place accessibility: On Oct. 24, Lehman came to a commissioners’ meeting to request a $16,000 change order for the Clinton Township Firehall’s polling station to become handicap-accessible, which was approved.
Commissioner Scott Metzger stated, “We want to make sure that everybody has access to vote.”
“However,” Metzger continued, “You also want to note on the backside of this, that the federal government is not refunding us for this. So, this comes out of our general fund. So the taxpayers are paying for this. It’d be nice if the federal government, that’s mandating it, would support the cost.”
Lehman responded, “If there’s a silver lining I could offer, it is that the sites we’re talking about … they’re the building blocks of democracy on Election Day.”
Election Day aftermath
Diverting from the discussion regarding the ADA renovations, Metzger thanked Lehman and his office’s staff for the work they did this past Tuesday.
“We have a phenomenal staff, they do a great job. I think everything was done by 10 o’clock (Tuesday night),” said Metzger. “I mean, I see this morning, Nevada, Arizona’s still counting, and here we are.”
Lehman described admiration for his office’s staff and other county workers who pitched in during preparation for and on Election Day, going on to say, “Government works best for the public when there is a shared sense of purpose, you know, and understanding that we are all in this together.”
Commissioner Mark Mussina stated, “We hear about the inefficiency of government a lot, and we’re learning, trying to make it more efficient … and to see the election process with the ballots come in, and it is like clockwork. They have such a good team.”
The director went on to express the gratification he feels when an election ends, “regardless of the outcome.” Lehman spoke of the community’s emotional reaction to the 2016 election, his first election as director, and the community’s similar reaction to the 2020 race.
“My hope is that, as a country, we’re going to find a way to move on from this stuff, because it’s not healthy to keep spending four years at a time stewing over the outcome of the last presidential election,” Lehman said.
“We need to remember that self-government is not a one-time event … Every year is an election year, there’s going to be a lot more opportunities for people to make choices about what direction you want to go as a community,” the director stated.
