Delco Dropbox Matter Resolved — Here’s some good news about a matter we reported yesterday regarding a Nov. 1 incident at a Lansdowne, Pa. ballot dropbox.
A citizen saw a Delaware County employee he thought behaving suspiciously at a dropbox on Highland Avenue and questioned him with his cell phone camera running.
Rather than offer an explanation, the employee waved his ID, said he was doing his job and drove off.
It now appears the employee was legitimately collecting ballots from the box and not shoving ballots into it as the citizen believed.
Don’t expect any garment rending for reporting this, and rather than condemn the guy who videotaped it, we are going to give him the highest praise.
We are going to chastise Delco, however, for its, expected, incompetence. Workers should be trained to make it obvious they are only removing ballots, not inserting them, and, if confronted, provide a calm explanation. This does not mean saying “I’m doin my job” and driving off.
They should also calmly pass on contact information to concerned citizens about making a report or getting details.
This isn’t rocket science. Telling employees to do this isn’t asking them to storm Omaha Beach.
The best solution, though, is to get rid of dropboxes.
Delaware County has much more than Philadelphia and Allegheny counties combined despite being smaller than both.
Mail-in ballots are meant to be used in US mailboxes and mailboxes don’t cost the county a penny.
Yes, the cost of dropbox maintenance is significant.
Mailboxes are accessible 24/7 and the county doesn’t have to pay anyone to collect from them.
Why hasn’t County Council done this?
Hey, it’s not their money.
Delco Dropbox Matter Resolved