Five months ago, the activists called Bucks Voices made eight blue cardboard ballot-box costumes and danced their way, accompanied by a jazz band, from Court Street in Doylestown to the Board of Elections. They presented Bob Harvie, chairman of the board, with a petition asking that the number of drop boxes be increased for the November election.
Commissioner Harvey promised there would be at least 10 drop boxes for November. He did better than that. There are 11 drop boxes for absentee or mail in ballots in Bucks County; three of them opened for business on October 12.
But before drop boxes were ready at Bristol Borough Hall, an enterprising part-time employee found one of the blue cardboard costumes, and stuck a sign on it saying, “Coming Soon / Oct 18 – Nov 2.” Right above big letters saying “MAIL IN BALLOT DROP BOX.”
We can’t believe there were six people in Bristol so eager to vote they tossed their ballots into something misshapen and lumpy, something with a hole in it where a head would go – unless they thought Trump might still be on the ballot.
However, this has created an electoral crisis.
Facing charges of voter fraud, the dutiful executives at Bristol Borough Hall consulted the Board of Elections, which, after some beard-pulling, decreed that it was a mistake and no intentional fraud had been committed “at the direction of any governmental agency or official.”
The six voters were informed of their error, and their ballots returned. The parttime employee, presumably, was scolded. And the lumpy blue cardboard “drop box” was banished to where it should have gone back in June, to the trash bin.
