Bryce Jordan Center Transforms into Polling Place

By Kendrick Wright | Centre County Report

The Bryce Jordan Center, more known for hosting sports and concerts, turned into a polling place on Tuesday.

For Election Day 2020, it served as the home for Centre County precincts 24 and 44-2. It’s a temporary move from the usual location at HUB-Robeson Center for those precincts to allow for more physical distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Turnout was strong on Tuesday morning and it was expected to stay busy all day.

‘It concerns me a little bit, so many people coming to one location but I hope that they organize it well,’ said Penn State graduate student Jennifer Dobson.

COVID mitigation guidelines were in place — masks were required for poll workers and encouraged for voters, while social distancing measures also were in effect.

By 7 a.m. when polls opened 170 people were outside in line ready to vote on an important and historical day.

‘We’ve got a lot of reasons to go vote and I think they’re really exciting for our generation to be voting, especially for a lot of college students in our first presidential election,’ said Jacob Klipstein, president of the Penn State College Democrats

From Oct. 7-24, the venue was used as a Centre County satellite elections office to allow voters who had not already applied for a mail-in ballot to apply, receive and complete the mail ballot in person.

Polls are open for in-person voting and mail ballots can be delivered to one of eight drop box locations until 8 p.m. on Tuesday.