ACLU seeks restoration of Luzerne County mail ballot drop boxes

The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania is urging Luzerne County Manager Romilda Crocamo to withdraw her elimination of four mail ballot drop boxes for the Nov. 5 general election.

It also argued the drop box decision rests with the county’s volunteer, five-citizen Election Board under the county’s home rule charter structure, not with the manager.

The League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania also sent a communication to Crocamo Tuesday calling on her to reverse her decision.

Crocamo provided this response to both: “As a lifelong supporter of the ACLU and the League of Women Voters, I am surprised and disheartened that they have not grasped nor respect that I have an obligation to protect my staff, county property and the ballots themselves.”

The ACLU communication urges Crocamo to withdraw her statement ordering the removal and discontinuance of drop boxes so that the county election board may, if it chooses, consider the issue “under its statutory and home rule charter authority.”

Under the charter, council appoints four citizens — two Republicans and two Democrats — and those four citizens then select a fifth member of any affiliation or no affiliation to serve as chair. Because current chairwoman Denise Williams is a Democrat, the board has three Democrats and two Republicans.

Because the county manager oversees election bureau staff, the roles and powers of the board and manager have been a source of debate since the home rule charter took effect in January 2012. This is one of the issues that likely will be explored by the county Government Study Commission, which was activated by county April 23 primary election voters to consider and possibly recommend charter revisions.

The ACLU said the state Election Code gives county election boards jurisdiction over the conduct of elections.

“Thus, all the duties and responsibilities for running elections and election administration must be exercised by the Luzerne County Board of Elections and Registration, and not by any other county body or officer,” the ACLU asserts.

The county election board had publicly adopted a policy and approved the deployment of four drop boxes, it said.

“Neither the Luzerne County county manager, nor the Luzerne County Council, has the authority to override a decision regarding election administration that the appointed Board of Elections has adopted,” it said.

“Your last-minute unilateral move and unsubstantiated public statements that the drop boxes are not secure elevates a false narrative about mail voting and sows distrust in election administration. It serves only to create chaos in the community. We urge you to use the power of your office to ensure funding necessary for the security of ballot drop boxes and to reassure the voting public that Luzerne County is encouraging voter participation and is capable of running smooth and secure elections,” said the ACLU letter signed by Marian K. Schneider, senior policy counsel for voting rights.

Crocamo has cited security concerns as her reason for cancelling the boxes.

The ACLU argues the election board is the entity with authority to make that determination, and the board “has concluded that the drop boxes in Luzerne County are a secure option for Luzerne County voters,” it said. The Pennsylvania Department of State has published security recommendations for drop box deployment, it added.

“Regardless of your motivations for calling for the removal and discontinuance of drop boxes, your actions have prevented an orderly decision-making process by the Board of Elections at a public meeting during which citizens have the opportunity to address comments on such a decision directly to the board,” the ACLU said.

Drop boxes “provide voters with a secure way to submit their ballot knowing that it will go directly into the hands of the elections bureau,” the ACLU said.

“This is especially critical for voters who vote in the days right before Election Day and cannot be certain that the postal service will deliver their ballot on time,” it said.

Crocamo has said the county will again ensure mail ballots are sent to voters in early October, well before the Oct. 22 statutory deadline, to ensure they have time to fill them out and return them by regular mail. Mail ballots must be physically in the election bureau by 8 p.m. on Election Day, and postmarks do not count.

Voters also will have the option to bring their ballots to the election bureau on the second floor of the county’s Penn Place building in downtown Wilkes-Barre after going through a security/metal detector check. A drop box was previously inside the Penn Place entry vestibule.

The ACLU also said drop boxes are an important tool to expand access to voting for people with disabilities.

State League of Women Voters Executive Director Amy Widestrom’s communication to Crocamo described the value of drop boxes.

“Any effort to limit or remove ballot drop boxes takes away choices from voters and restricts the options available to them to participate in the democratic process. As advocates for democracy, the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania strongly urges you to recognize the importance of ballot drop boxes in achieving these goals and to keep drop boxes in Luzerne County,” it said.