4 polling places change in Luzerne County

Luzerne County’s Election Bureau has scrambled to find new polling places for four voting precincts in Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton because it only recently was informed the previous locations won’t be available, county Acting Manager Brian Swetz said Thursday.

Swetz said he wants the public to realize the last-minute changes were necessary for the May 16 primary due to the timing of notice from the polling place hosts — not because the bureau failed to prepare.

“I certainly understand and appreciate the fact of any reason for a change but hope in the future the county would receive more advance notice,” Swetz said. “The bureau has set up alternatives on short notice and I applaud them for their efforts.”

The new voting locations:

• Wilkes-Barre Ward 5 (previously Dan Flood Elementary School) — St. Mary’s Byzantine Catholic Church, 695 N. Main St., Wilkes-Barre

• Wilkes-Barre Wards 10 and 11 (previously Heights Murray Elementary) — the former Marymount School, 154 S. Hancock St., Wilkes-Barre

• Hazleton Ward 5 (previously Holy Rosary Church) — Terrace Plaza, 601 S. Poplar St., Hazleton

The three Wilkes-Barre changes stem from the Wilkes-Barre Area School District’s decision that two schools — Heights Murray Elementary and Dan Flood Elementary — cannot be used due to security purposes, county officials said they were informed.

It could not immediately be confirmed Thursday why the Hazleton church site was no longer available.

Wilkes-Barre Area Superintendent Brian Costello said his administration met with county election bureau representatives Thursday morning to discuss the use of the Heights Murray and Dan Flood schools.

“We were identifying a little bit of a safety concern. We are unable to control the flow of voters coming in with actual staff and student population, so we were looking for other alternatives,” he said.

Costello said options considered included other locations in the schools or bringing in some type of modular unit for voters that would be separate from the school.

“Whatever they decide, we will try to help make it work,” Costello said.

He said there are no similar concerns at the two other schools used as voting locations — David Kistler Elementary and Boyd Dodson Elementary.

Wilkes-Barre Ward 15 and 16 voters will continue voting at Kistler Elementary on Old River Road in the city, county officials said. Voters in Wilkes-Barre Wards 19 and 20 will remain at Boyd Dodson Elementary in the primary.

The election bureau plans to post a complete list of all primary polling locations shortly, according to its 2023 municipal primary section at luzernecounty.org.

For future elections, county Administrative Services Division Head Jennifer Pecora urged polling place sites to contact the bureau as soon as possible if they are unwilling to continue providing space for voting.

The election bureau has to send new cards to all impacted voters informing them of the location changes and modify logistics for the delivery of voting equipment, Pecora said.

Staff writer Mark Guydish contributed to this report.