Luzerne County primary ballots lack municipalities for countywide candidates

Luzerne County’s May 16 primary election ballots don’t contain the municipality of residence for candidates in the county council and district attorney’s races as required, officials said Thursday night.

The county learned of the error from Butler Township political media consultant Jason Holly, who said he spotted it on sample ballots the election bureau had posted online.

However, the discovery came too late to add the residency to ballots because the ballot printing is already underway or completed, officials said. Mail ballots already are in the process of being sent to voters who requested them.

As a corrective action, the county plans to publicly post the candidate names and municipality of residence on the county website (luzernecounty.org) and at all 186 voting precincts for the primary in the county council and district attorney’s race, county Election Director Eryn Harvey said in an email to county officials Thursday night.

The election bureau consulted with the Pennsylvania Department of State on the corrective plan, Harvey said.

Primary election sample ballots had been posted on the county website at the end of March as part of a more proactive proofing process intended to avoid mistakes. Candidates also were asked to review the sample ballots.

“While the checks and balances that the Bureau of Elections put into place for this election mitigated issues on the ballot, this error went unnoticed by multiple parties who reviewed the ballot,” Harvey said in an email to county officials. “This review process included candidates and the Board of Elections, who ultimately approve the ballot and its content.”

Holly said in his communication to the county election board he was writing with the “utmost urgency and concern” about the issue, citing the section of law requiring the city, borough or township of residency to be stated opposite or under the name of each candidate in a countywide race.

“This information is crucial for voters as they make their selections, not only for geopolitical purposes but also due to the common surnames and confusion that may result from the absence of this statutorily required information,” Holly wrote.

Holly said Thursday night he spoke to a county council candidate concerned the lack of residency by his name will cause him to lose votes from those in his area.

“People vote by geography,” Holly said.

He stressed he is not blaming Harvey, the election bureau or election board but believes a more thorough legal review of the ballots is warranted to make sure they meet all state law requirements.

The county is under heightened pressure to conduct an election without major glitches due to a November 2022 election paper shortage that is still under investigation by the county district attorney’s office.