§ 302Powers and Duties of County Boards

The county
boards of elections, within their respective counties, shall
exercise, in the manner provided by this act, all powers granted
to them by this act, and shall perform all the duties imposed
upon them by this act, which shall include the following:
   (a) To investigate and report to the court of quarter
sessions their recommendations on all petitions presented to
the court by electors for the division, redivision, alteration,
change or consolidation of election districts, and to present
to the court petitions for the division, redivision, alteration,
change or consolidation of election districts in proper cases.
   (b) To select and equip polling places that meet the
requirements of this act. ((b) amended May 12, 2006, P.L.178,
No.45)
   (c) To purchase, preserve, store and maintain primary and
election equipment of all kinds, including voting booths, ballot
boxes and voting machines, and to procure ballots and all other
supplies for elections.
   (d) To appoint their own employes, voting machine
custodians, and machine inspectors.
   (e) To issue certificates of appointment to watchers at
primaries and elections.
   (f) To make and issue such rules, regulations and
instructions, not inconsistent with law, as they may deem
necessary for the guidance of voting machine custodians,
elections officers and electors.
   (g) To instruct election officers in their duties, calling
them together in meeting whenever deemed advisable, and to
inspect systematically and thoroughly the conduct of primaries
and elections in the several election districts of the county
to the end that primaries and elections may be honestly,
efficiently, and uniformly conducted.
   (h) To prepare and publish, in the manner provided by this
act, all notices and advertisements in connection with the

conduct of primaries and elections, which may be required by
law.
   (i) To investigate election frauds, irregularities and
violations of this act, and to report all suspicious
circumstances to the district attorney.
   (j) To receive and determine, as hereinafter provided, the
sufficiency of nomination petitions, certificates and papers
of candidates for county, city, borough, township, ward, school
district, poor district, election offices, and local party
offices required by law or by party rules to be filed with the
board.
   (k) To receive from district election officers the returns
of all primaries and elections, to canvass and compute the same,
and to certify, no later than the third Monday following the
primary or election, the results thereof to the Secretary of
the Commonwealth, as may be provided by law, and to such other
authorities as may be provided by law. The certification shall
include the number of votes received in each election district
by each candidate for the General Assembly.
   (l) To publicly announce by posting at its office the
results of primaries and elections for county, city, borough,
township, ward, school district, poor district, election
offices, and party offices, if any; to provide the results to
the Secretary of the Commonwealth; and to issue certificates
of election to the successful candidates for said offices.
   (m) To prepare and submit, not later than five days prior
to each primary, municipal and general election, a report to
the Secretary of the Commonwealth in the form prescribed by
him, which shall contain a statement of the total number of
electors registered in each election district, together with a
breakdown of registration by each political party or other
designation. Copies of said statement shall be furnished, upon
request, to the county chairman of each political party and
political body. The Secretary of the Commonwealth shall
forthwith submit such information to the Legislative Data
Processing Center and shall publicly report the total number
of registered electors for each political party or other
designation in each county prior to election day. ((m) amended
July 11, 2022, P.L.1577, No.88)
   (n) To annually prepare and submit to the county
commissioners or other appropriating authorities of the county
an estimate of the cost of primaries and elections and of the
expenses of the board for the ensuing fiscal year.
   (o) To perform such other duties as may be prescribed by
law.
   (p) A county board of elections shall not pay compensation
to a judge of elections who wilfully fails to deliver by two
o'clock A. M. on the day following the election envelopes;
supplies, including all uncast provisional ballots; and returns,
including all provisional ballots cast in the election district
and statements signed under sections 1306 and 1302-D. ((p)
amended Mar. 27, 2020, P.L.41, No.12)
   (302 amended Oct. 8, 2004, P.L.807, No.97)