Luzerne County manager: Search for drop box records must wait until primary is over

The search for forms documenting November 2022 general election mail ballot drop box returns must wait until after the upcoming April 23 primary election, Luzerne County Manager Romilda Crocamo said Sunday.

These return forms are of interest as part of a board sample review of 2022 general election drop box surveillance footage that was conducted by two prior county election board members last year and publicly highlighted last week by board Vice Chairwoman Alyssa Fusaro at a board meeting.

Both prior board members — Democrat Audrey Serniak and Republican James Mangan — said no absolute conclusions can be made on their findings unless the forms are located.

Serniak and Mangan said the number of voters dropping off ballots in two locations was significantly lower than the number of ballots recorded as received on a spreadsheet compiled by the election bureau. Serniak said she is concerned the spreadsheet “may be off.”

To determine if the bureau’s spreadsheet was accurate, Mangan and Serniak sought the original “chain of custody” forms the board required when teams of sheriff deputies deliver drop box contents to the election bureau.

However, the election bureau does not have a handy copy of these forms. Paperwork associated with the November 2022 general election is stored in approximately 100 boxes at the county’s voting equipment warehouse near the courthouse, workers say. A bureau worker did not find any boxes labeled as containing those forms, which means the contents of each box would have to be searched to determine if the forms were retained as required.

Engrossed in primary election preparations, the short-staffed bureau does not have resources to sift through all the boxes at this time, workers say.

Board Chairwoman Denise Williams sent an email Friday saying she’d like to “see this matter addressed ASAP” and requested access for board members to assist by searching the boxes. Williams said the board has assisted in the past when stored boxes had to be searched to find a returned mail ballot in question, her email said.

Fusaro also expressed interest in assisting in the search.

Crocamo replied by indicating board members “will not be going to the warehouse to review any documents at any time.”

Crocamo elaborated Sunday, saying the county’s home rule charter gives the county manager authority over county properties.

“No board will have access to the buildings and their contents until I give approval. Right now the administration is focusing on the upcoming primary. The election board should do the same,” Crocamo said. “The administration will deal with the challenges faced in the 2022 election after the primary.”

Crocamo said she very much wants to establish the facts from the past election.

“I want to find out what happened in 2022, especially because I wasn’t working for the county at the time. But right now the focus has to be on preparing for the primary that is now less than two months away,” Crocamo said.

Election bureau workers must be present in all inspections of original election documents, and they must prioritize their time concentrating on the upcoming election, she said.

“We would be diverting staff to go over there, and we need the staff to prepare for the primary,” Crocamo said.