Preparing for Tuesday’s Luzerne County general election

A total 196,296 Luzerne County residents are registered to cast ballots in Tuesday’s general election, according to the latest state statistics.

The breakdown: Democrats, 87,569; Republicans, 82,598; and other or no affiliation, 26,129.

Voters are free to pick candidates of any party affiliation in the general.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. A list of all polling places is posted on the election bureau’s main page at luzernecounty.org. The state also provides a polling place search tool at www.pavoterservices.pa.gov.

To help voters prepare, the county has posted sample ballots on the election bureau page at luzernecounty.org.

Upon arrival, voters in 156 precincts will sign in using paper poll books. The remaining 30 precincts will be testing electronic poll books from Knowink that the county may purchase for countywide implementation in the 2024 primary election. Paper poll books also will be on hand at precincts in the pilot program as a back-up, officials said.

After sign-in, voters make selections on touchscreen machines and must then receive a paper ballot printout to verify their choices. After reviewing this printout, voters must feed the paper into a tabulator.

County officials emphasize voters should not leave the polling place with this paper because it must be entered into the tabulator to lock in their vote.

Those with questions or concerns about the ballot marking devices, printouts or tabulators — or anything else they encounter in the polling place — should alert the judge of elections before they cast their ballots so the judge can assess the situation and, if warranted, resolve it, officials say.

Mail ballots

General election mail ballots have been issued to 26,788 county voters who requested them, and approximately 16,700 had been returned as of Friday afternoon, according to county Deputy Election Director Emily Cook.

Completed ballots must be physically in the county election bureau by 8 p.m. on election night, and postmarks don’t count.

Four drop box locations are available, but the county’s Penn Place Building in downtown Wilkes-Barre is the only site available on Election Day.

The specifics:

• Misericordia University, Passan Hall, 100 Lake St., Dallas — Sunday, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Monday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• Hazleton Exchange Building, 100 W. Broad St., Hazleton — Monday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

• Wright Manor (main lobby), 460 S. Main Road, Mountain Top — Sunday, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Monday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• Penn Place (main lobby), 20 N. Pennsylvania Ave., Wilkes-Barre — Monday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Election Day, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

In addition, a countertop box is available in the election bureau on the second floor at Penn Place.

Mail voters who do not return their ballots also can bring the ballot package that had been sent to them — the ballot and envelopes — to their polling place so it can be voided, allowing them to vote on the ballot marking device at their polling place.

Voters who requested but never received a mail ballot can cast a paper provisional ballot at their polling place.

Provisional ballots are marked by hand and reviewed last so the county can verify a mail ballot was not also received from that voter. The details are important for provisional ballots. They must be placed in a secrecy envelope, which is then inserted in an outer envelope. Three signatures — two from the voter and one from the judge of elections — are required on the outer envelope for the vote to count.

Election results

A team of workers assisting with the processing of mail ballots will be sworn in the day before the election.

The process to start unsealing mail ballot envelopes and scanning the ballots, known as pre-canvassing, begins at 7 a.m. on Election Day at Penn Place.

By law, counties cannot start uploading mail ballot results — known as canvassing — until the polls close at 8 p.m., officials said.

Observation of pre-canvassing and canvassing is limited to political party officials and candidates or their representatives, and all observers must have watcher certificates obtained through the election bureau.

As usual, results will be posted and updated at luzernecounty.org after the polls close.

The state’s electionreturns.pa.gov site will provide updated unofficial results in state court races.

Voters may call 570-825-1715 or email elections@luzernecounty.org for assistance or to report any issues.

The county must complete its unofficial tally of ballots, including mail ones, by midnight on election night as a condition for its acceptance of a state election integrity grant.

Local referendums

Voters in Jenkins Township and Nanticoke also will decide whether municipal ballot questions are approved or rejected.

In Jenkins Township, the ballot question asks voters if they will allow the township to raise taxes 0.5 mill solely to provide dedicated funding to emergency services (police and fire).

Nanticoke is asking voters if they want to eliminate city home rule charter term limits for city council and the mayor, which are currently capped at three consecutive, elected terms for both offices.

Voter rights

Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt issued a release urging voters to educate themselves about their rights before they vote in person Tuesday, saying a wealth of information is available at vote.pa.gov.

First-time voters should bring proper identification materials. Approved forms of photo identification include a Pennsylvania driver’s license or PennDOT identification card, a U.S. passport, or ID issued by any Pennsylvania government agency, the U.S. government, the U.S. armed forces, an employer or educational institution, the state said. Non-photo identification must contain the voter’s name and address and can include confirmation issued by the county election bureau, non-photo ID issued by Pennsylvania or the U.S. government, a firearm permit, government check or current paycheck, bank statement or utility bill.

First-time voters who do not bring ID to the polls can return with identification or must be offered a provisional ballot.

Some other notes from the state release:

• If a voter is challenged based on their identity or residency, the voter may vote normally by signing a challenge affidavit and producing a witness who is also a registered voter in the precinct to vouch for them. If the voter cannot or does not want to produce a witness, the voter may cast a provisional ballot. Identity and residency are the only bases for challenging a voter at a polling place.

• Voters have the right to assistance at the polling place, including foreign language or literacy assistance. A voter may select any person to assist as long as the person is not their employer, their union representative, or the precinct’s judge of elections. Voters do not need to be designated as “assistance permitted” in the poll book to receive help.

Voters also have the right to refuse assistance.

• Voters have the right to vote without being subjected to intimidation, harassment, or discriminatory conduct. A voter who experiences intimidation should report it to the judge of elections, their county board of elections, their county district attorney’s office, or the Department of State’s year-round voter hotline at 1-877-VOTESPA (1-877-868-3772).