Public commenter urges Delaware County to publish military-voter participation data

A public commenter told the Delaware County Board of Elections on Sept. 22 that active-duty military participation in the county appears to be very low and urged the board to make the participation reports public.

"My point today is we're not serving the folks that serve well in getting them to participate," the commenter said, and cited county figures he said showed "in 2024, 186 military members out of 330,000 votes cast," or roughly 0.056% of votes. The commenter asked that the last five years of election participation reports be emailed to him and posted on the county website if permissible.

Board members and staff responded with procedural guidance. The solicitor, Mr. Parks, and Director Mr. Allen explained that election-related records are governed by the Pennsylvania Election Code rather than a general right-to-know request and that there is a specific Election Code request form. Mr. Allen said staff would email the Election Code request form and try to respond quickly if disclosure is permitted.

The exchange left open a data request path rather than immediate release of the records. The board did not take any policy action during the meeting; staff advised the commenter on how to submit the proper request and committed to follow up.