Kaitlyn Hughes & Naomi Girson | features editor & staff writer |

Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato sealed up and sent off her mail-in ballot on Oct.15, the first day of satellite voting in the county. She showed off her “I voted” sticker as she walked out of the Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum.

On Tuesday, the museum in Oakland served as a satellite voting and ballot return site giving county residents the opportunity to vote early. The site will be active until Thursday, Oct. 17.

“This is a place where you can register to vote or change your address, request a mail-in ballot and vote, all in the same minute,” Innamorato said.

She timed her voting process, clocking just under 12 minutes on her stopwatch.

When choosing a location for the satellite voting station the county made sure to look at data from the past.

Oakland has been one of the areas with the lowest voter turnout, Innamorato said.

“That’s really what we were looking for when we were looking for a satellite location,” she said. “Targeting a population that the data is showing us doesn’t always have the opportunity to vote on election day.”

By the afternoon, the site had gone through two boxes of mail-in ballots, said Allan Opsitnick, an assistant county solicitor.

Reuben Rochkind, a junior at the University of Pittsburgh, had some reservations after submitting his mail-in ballot.

“I have had packages lost in the mail, who’s to say my ballot won’t get lost,” Rochkind said.

There should not be concern with the validity of over-the-counter voting, with county employees overseeing each turned-in ballot, Innamorato said.

“There’s no one who knows elections more in the county than the people who are in that building at this moment,” she said.

Matan Rieger, a sophomore at the University of Pittsburgh, came to the museum to submit his first ballot in a presidential election.

Originally from Washington D.C., Rieger switched his registration to Pennsylvania. It was important to him to vote for the representatives of the district he resides in at school.

“I think it’s important because you never know what’s going to come up on election day. Whether it be classes or work or anything with family,” Rieger said. “I think it’s important to make sure that we’re getting votes in before we don’t have that chance anymore.”

Paul Nichols, a volunteer for the Harris-Walz campaign, stood on Fifth Avenue informing students of the early voting opportunity.

He said that this election is vital for all students to participate in because it will determine their future.

“It’s a privilege and a right, but it’s your duty,” Nichols said.

Other satellite locations will be operating the last two weekends of October at CCAC Homewood and the North Park and South Park Ice Rinks. The County Office Building, located downtown, will be open seven days a week for over-the-counter voting and ballot return services until Election Day.