In Lower Pottsgrove Township, Pennsylvania, Montgomery County Commissioner Neil Makhija questioned whether the county could adopt an approach similar to Uber by bringing services directly to voters instead of waiting for them to visit traditional polling places.

This idea led to the creation of a mobile voter service unit—a transit van that has been traveling around suburban Philadelphia for weeks. This mobile hub has been making stops at local fall festivals, senior centers, and college campuses to assist with ballot corrections, register voters, and collect mail-in ballots.

Makhija, currently chairing the county Board of Elections, noted that thousands of residents have engaged with the mobile service, prompting discussions with officials from other counties interested in replicating the initiative.

Thanks to the van’s efforts, instead of the predicted 2,000 ballots being rejected due to minor errors, only 250 had to be discarded, according to Makhija.

Makhija showcased the van during its stop at the Lower Pottsgrove Township Building, one of three designated drop-off locations available on Election Day for voters submitting mail-in ballots.

Having taught election law as a professor at the University of Pennsylvania for seven years, Makhija has extensive knowledge of the state’s political processes and the varying challenges that arise from county to county in a state where local officials have considerable authority over election management.

“Unfortunately, various laws permit counties to discard ballots without notifying voters, often based on minor technicalities,” he explained.

Across the nation, many counties strive to correct these technicalities through a process referred to as ‘curing.’

In Pennsylvania, regulations stipulate that a signature and date must be present on the exterior of the ballot envelope, which must also enclose the ballot in a second, sealed envelope. Local officials can identify missing information and are allowed to reach out to voters via mail, phone, or email to rectify issues. However, if the problems are not resolved before the deadline, the ballot will not be counted.

Makhija further indicated that typically, only about 10% of voters respond to these outreach efforts.

This led him to ponder, “What if we bring the solutions directly to them and allow them to resolve issues right away?”

County officials subsequently realized there are no state laws restricting when ballots can be made available, enabling them to print ballots immediately after the state supreme court approved the candidate list. As a result, Montgomery County was the first in the state to make ballots accessible to voters.

Unlike other states with traditional early voting, Pennsylvania allows voters to request mail-in ballots in person and complete them immediately before returning them.

This procedure often leads to long wait times statewide, leading to litigation over how long voters can remain in line.

Alongside designated county locations, Makhija mentioned that the mobile van also functioned as a flexible satellite space that could travel to areas where it was needed most.

“The van’s ability to visit a variety of locations throughout the county—like senior centers, college campuses, or busy community events—meant it could be there to assist people in registering, requesting mail-in ballots, and voting,” Makhija stated.