Barletta: GOP should embrace mail ballots

Since mail ballots were authorized six elections ago, at least a quarter of Luzerne County voters casting ballots have been choosing that option, analysis shows.

Election Board Chairwoman Denise Williams advocates public awareness of mail ballot usage statistics, particularly to educate elected officials making statements or decisions related to the matter.

“There are a significant number of voters in Luzerne County who prefer and use mail ballots,” Williams said.

More Democrats than Republicans have been choosing mail ballots, prompting one prominent local Republican — former Congressman Lou Barletta — to start encouraging his party’s voters to consider the option.

Barletta said many Republicans don’t like mail ballots — “especially as (former President Donald) Trump encouraged them not to use them.”

“It’s OK not to like it, but that does not mean you shouldn’t use it,” Barletta said of mail ballot voting. “If Republicans don’t embrace it, they’re going to continue to get clobbered in these elections.”

The numbers

The option to vote by mail with no excuse or reason required was available for the first time in the June 2, 2020 primary due to the bipartisan state legislation — Act 77 — that passed in 2019.

Implementation coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting unusually high initial mail ballot usage of 62.45% in the county during the 2020 primary election.

Specifically, 64,308 ballots were cast — 24,145 at the polls and 40,163 through mail ballots in the 2020 primary, county archives show.

The county mail ballot usage in subsequent elections, based on information from county reports and archives:

• November 2020 general election (presidential) — 36.9%

(97,230 at polls/56,904 mail/154,134 total)

• May 2021 primary — 30.5%

(39,420 at polls/17,300 mail/56,720 total)

• November 2021 general — 29.47%

(45,036 at polls/18,820 mail/63,856 total)

• May 2022 primary — 28.43%

(46,176 at polls/18,342 mail/64,518 total)

• November 2022 general — 24.67%

(88,503 at polls/28,992 mail/117,495 total)

• May 2023 primary — 32.5%

(30,585 at polls/14,753 mail/45,338 total)

• November 2023 general — 31.2%

(44,443 at polls/20,055 mail/64,498 total)

To Williams, the statistics show a consistent and sizeable number of voters want the mail ballot option.

Williams supports giving voters a choice on how they want to cast their ballot, stressing she is referring to voters of any affiliation or no affiliation.

“The main thing is to vote whatever way their preference is,” she said, urging anyone unsure of their voting status to contact the county election bureau. “I’d love to see higher turnout and more voters of any affiliation.”

Overall county turnout was 32.86% in the November general.

Voters had to learn how to make the switch from the old lever machines to electronic voting equipment, and mail ballot voting is another change that requires acclimation, Williams said.

“It takes time sometimes for people to adjust to change,” she said.

Pennsylvania’s Department of State has described mail ballots as a “secure, convenient and accessible method of voting.”

Republican push

Barletta said the Democratic Party has “become terrific” at supporting the mail ballot option, which lessens the impact if Election Day turnout is light.

In comparison, Barletta said Republican candidates have been at a disadvantage in general elections if their party’s voters don’t show up in sufficient numbers at the polls on Election Day.

This mail ballot dynamic wouldn’t have the same effect in primary elections because Pennsylvania has closed primaries, which means candidates are seeking nominations from within each party to advance to the general election.

Barletta hosted a “NEPA mail in ballot informational event” at the Wilkes-Barre Township Fire Hall earlier this month and plans to schedule another one in this region in January.

He is particularly trying to reach Republicans who sometimes cancel plans to vote at the polls due to hectic family and work commitments.

His main focus has been helping voters “overcome their fears” about mail ballots. Based on feedback he received at the session, security of the vote is their top concern.

The Republican National Committee is stressing systems are in place to “make sure the process works and people can feel their vote is being counted,” Barletta said, noting the RNC state chair participated in the Wilkes-Barre Township session.

His efforts are in line with the RNC’s support of a “Bank Your Vote” initiative to get Republicans to vote as early as possible, according to online postings.

Political observers have publicly questioned whether Republicans can turn around voters with an ingrained anti-mail ballot mindset.

Of the 20,055 November general election mail ballots returned in this county, the breakdown was 4,467 Republican, 14,616 Democrat and 972 other, according to the election bureau. That puts Republican mail ballot participation around 22%.

Get involved

County Election Board member Alyssa Fusaro said many Republicans have been understandably distrustful of mail ballot voting since it was rolled out in 2020.

Fusaro said she has been immersed in mail ballot procedures and processing through her work on the election board and finds some voters are unaware of controls now in place that prevent some of their concerns from materializing.

“I would agree Republicans need to start having a little more faith in the process, while at the same time remaining extremely cautious,” she said.

Increased mail ballot usage also can help offset the impact on voters if there are problems at the polls, such as the 2022 general election paper shortage, Fusaro said.

Voters also should seek out facts if they have concerns about mail ballots or any other aspect of the voting process, she said.

“If people are mistrustful of the ways things are processed, they need to get more involved so they can see how it works,” Fusaro said. “That’s a huge part of our issue, not only here in Luzerne County, but everywhere else as well.”