Although Ohio announced it is hosting a by mail only election this year, Pennsylvania will have precincts open for in-person voting June 2. 

Mercer County Election Director Jeff Greenburg reassured voters who want to vote in person that day that the county expects to have most, if not all, of its precincts open. 

While the Pennsylvania General Assembly gave counties some flexibility to consolidate up to 60 percent of its precincts in the event of shortfalls in workers or available locations, county officials are still hopeful that won't be necessary.

"County residents should be extremely proud and appreciative of the response the county election bureau has had so far from a large number of our precinct election workers, who are ready to do their jobs for voters on June 2," Greenburg said. "The dedication and commitment to serve their communities is remarkable."

The Pennsylvania Department of State has agreed to provide precinct protection kits for every county in the state that will include items for poll workers to use such as sanitizer, masks, gloves and alcohol wipes.

The county will also provide Q-tips to serve as a disposable stylus for anyone who needs to use the accessible ballot marking device.

Voters will also be asked to bring their own pens, black or blue ink only, and wear masks as well, but they will not be turned away if they don't have a mask. 

The county will have pens that can be cleaned between uses for voters who don't bring their own.

If the situation related to Covid-19 is still a concern to voters, however, a mail ballot is still going to be the best option. The deadline to apply is May 26 and ballots must be returned to the election office by 8 p.m. June 2, but officials are strongly encouraging voters considering this option to do so now and not wait until the last minute.

The county has received return notices so far from 62 of its 90 boards.

Of the 62 responses, only one entire board has currently reported it will not work. Of the other 61 responses, only 13 workers out of more than 250 that make up those boards have reported they will not be able to work.

There are also a few on the fence waiting to see which direction the crisis heads.

Building owners have also gone beyond the call of duty with all 67 locations that have responded with their notices agreeing to open their doors to voters. The county is still waiting to hear from 18 others.

A second notice went out this week to election boards and locations that have yet to respond, but the county is hopeful those responses will continue to be overwhelmingly positive.

For voters who would like to vote by mail, you can click here.