Secretary of State Al Schmidt stopped by Penn State on Monday to talk about the importance of voting, and visit the the satellite elections office that is now open at the Hammond Building, on the corner of College Ave. and Allen St. He says this will make it easier for those living and working in the State College area to vote in the upcoming election.
On Monday, the Centre County Board of Elections officially opened their College Avenue satellite elections office. As we reported last month, many residentsat the Centre County Board of Elections meeting felt the more rural areas in Centre County should have the same access to an elections office. Centre County Commissioners say the election office location was picked because it is the center of the region, and where tens of thousands of Penn State employees come for work every day.
Schmidt says that making voting as easy as possible is a priority across the Commonwealth.
“It’s not an easy lift, it’s a challenge to set up and staff offices like this but it’s well worth it to improve accessibility for voters, especially in highly populated areas,”
Centre County Commissioners also spoke on Monday, and Commissioner Amber Concepcion says their election office goes from four staffers to more than 1,000 during a presidential election.
“Penn State students, Penn State staff, and other people coming from around the county to work in the State College area should find this to be a convenient location to come in, drop off registration forms, check their registration status, and also vote over the counter essentially,”
She says voter registration ends Monday, October 21, and then the last day to request a mail-in ballot is October 29, which will be the last day to utilize the satellite office.
Zion Sykes is the Penn State student president and a registered voter in Centre County. He says he will use the satellite office and talks about how the importance of voting is something all parties can agree on.
“It’s a combination of political leaders and figures who are from both parts, Secretary Schmidt is a Republican and two of our commissioners here today are Democrats, I think it really shows great unity in that aspect that this goes further than party lines, it’s really about making sure that we’re showcasing all voices,”
While the satellite office offers various election-related services, officials say it’s not a polling place, meaning you can’t vote there on election day. They say the satellite office at the Hammond Building will be open until October 29.
