Luzerne County study commission tackling election board next

Luzerne County’s Government Study Commission is set to start addressing the election board at its Thursday meeting.

The commission is drafting a revised charter that will come before voters for possible adoption in November.

The election board provides general supervision over elections, certifies results and oversees post-election adjudication.

Commission Chairman Ted Ritsick said Wednesday that no firm recommendations have been weighed to date because the panel is still gathering information needed to assess the board structure and duties.

Citizens and officials have raised differing views on whether the board’s composition should be altered or untouched and what powers should be handled by the board, as opposed to the administration.

“Now we’re in a position where the commission is becoming fully informed, and we’ll have those conversations and figure it out,” Ritsick said.

“I can’t emphasize enough that we are really trying to get all the information needed,” he added. “Our goal is to fix the election board, and at the end of the day, that will require us to have due diligence presented to us that we’ll see over the next couple of meetings.”

Ritsick said commission solicitor Joseph J. Khan, of Curtin & Heefner LLP, will present a legal overview on the subject on Thursday.

Prior to home rule’s January 2012 implementation, the county’s three elected commissioners served as the election board, with the court appointing substitutes during periods when sitting commissioners appeared on the ballot.

The charter created an election board of five citizens. County council appoints four of the five — two Democrats and two Republicans. Those four council-appointed members then select someone of any affiliation, or no affiliation, to fill the fifth seat and also serve as chair.

Beth Gilbert, of In This Together NEPA, issued a release Wednesday stating its recent survey revealed “overwhelming support for preserving the independence and bipartisan structure of the county’s Board of Elections.”

Describing the five-citizen structure as a critical safeguard, the release said 90.2% of the 1,282 survey respondents said it is very important the election board remains independent and bipartisan.

“Any attempt to place control of elections back into the hands of partisan political actors is a step backwards. The independent Board of Elections was created to prevent precisely that — to ensure that no political party or elected body could interfere in the administration or certification of our elections,” it said.

The organization urged the commission to “listen to the will of Luzerne County voters and leave the independent, bipartisan Election Board intact in the proposed charter.”

“Our democracy works best when it is protected from political influence. Our voters have made it clear they expect nothing less,” it said.

Thursday’s commission meeting starts at 6 p.m. in the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre. A link to attend the meeting remotely will be posted under council’s online meeting section (scroll down) at luzernecounty.org.