Luzerne County manager says Election Day going ‘very well’

On Tuesday afternoon, Luzerne County Manager Romilda Crocamo commented on the silence in the election bureau as a sign of how Election Day was proceeding so far.

“As you can hear, the phones are not ringing,” Crocamo said in the office at the county’s Penn Place Building in downtown Wilkes-Barre. “Things are going well — very well.”

Despite extensive preparations and planning, Crocamo and other bureau leadership staff said they had the usual difficulty sleeping the night before due to worrying.

Crocamo commended the election bureau staff, the election board, employees from other county departments who are assisting, poll workers and others.

Several county assistant solicitors also were on hand to answer questions as needed.

“This takes a really large team and a dedicated team to make things run smoothly,” Crocamo said. “I’m pleased to report there have been no countywide issues and that all polling places are open and operational.”

County Administrative Services Division Head Jennifer Pecora said the heaviest call volume was between 6 a.m. and 7:30 a.m., which is normal. Most of these calls requested troubleshooting for technical and equipment questions, which were all resolved, she said.

Typical in most elections, a handful of poll workers did not show up, but the bureau had a plan in place to close those gaps, the county officials said.

The bureau received positive reviews about electronic poll books used for voter sign-in at 30 precincts as part of a pilot program, they said. These books from Knowink may be purchased for countywide implementation in the 2024 primary election. Voters at the other 156 precincts are signing in using paper poll books.

Morning turnout was light at polling places, as predicted for a municipal election year, officials said.

By 1 p.m., the county had received 19,755 mail ballots, which did not include those awaiting collection from a Penn Place drop box and the Wilkes-Barre post office. Approximately 26,746 mail ballots were issued.

The process to start unsealing mail ballot envelopes and scanning the ballots, known as pre-canvassing, began Tuesday morning at Penn Place. By law, counties cannot start uploading mail ballot results — known as canvassing — until the polls close at 8 p.m.

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.

At the election bureau counter, a bilingual staffer assisted several Spanish-speaking voters with various questions.

Activity warning

In Luzerne borough, a toilet was set up outside a polling place telling people to deposit their mail ballots inside and make sure they flush. The toilet and sign were removed Monday night, and police are investigating, officials said.

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.