Luzerne County notifying residents of write-in wins

Luzerne County’s election bureau is mailing letters Friday morning to 112 May primary election write-in winners, said county Election Director Eryn Harvey.

To prepare the mailing, Harvey had to look up the name of each certified winner in the election registration database to confirm they were registered voters and obtain their addresses.

Letter recipients have until Aug. 4 to return the provided forms accepting or declining the nomination to appear on the November general election ballot, Harvey said.

The letters congratulate the candidates and state the office and political party of their nomination, along with the term length if they are chosen.

Those accepting must submit a statement of financial interest and candidate’s affidavit and, if applicable, pay a filing fee.

There are no filing fees for candidates running for school board or borough/township offices. The fee is $100 for countywide offices and $25 for city offices.

November general election ballot slots will remain blank if the write-in nominees submit forms declining the seat or fail to respond by the deadline, Harvey said.

The list of write-in nominees is posted on the election bureau’s main page at luzernecounty.org.

While some letter recipients may be surprised to learn they have been nominated, others launched write-in campaigns and now have official confirmation they were successful.

For example, all five men running as a write-in team in the Hanover Area School Board race received nominations from both parties, according to the list: Brian McDermott, Paul Holmgren, Jacob Hyder, Michael Mazur and Matthew Redick.

In the Wilkes-Barre City Council District B race, incumbent Tony Brooks secured the Democratic nomination through write-in votes instead of Mark Shaffer, who appeared on the ballot. Brooks ran unopposed on the Republican ballot and received that nomination.

Three winning Democratic Wilkes-Barre city council candidates also obtained Republican nominations through write-ins in districts that had no Republican contenders on the primary ballot, which means they face no competition in the November general, according to the new list: incumbent Mike Belusko, District A; and newcomers Stan Mirin, District C, and Jessica McClay, District E.

County District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce also secured the Democratic nomination. No Democrats had appeared on the ballot, and Sanguedolce won the Republican nomination with no opposition.