Luzerne County election director says primary preparations are ‘going well’

Luzerne County Election Director Emily Cook said the election bureau has received positive feedback from voters so far about the mail ballots and other preparations.

“Everything seems to be going well,” she told the county Election Board during its meeting Wednesday.

Poll worker training for the May 19 primary is ongoing, and there are no issues with staffing shortages, she said.

Cook encouraged residents interested in serving as poll workers to sign up at luzernecounty.org in case last-minute vacancies surface.

More than 21,000 primary election mail ballots were issued to voters requesting them, and 1,050 completed ballots had been returned by Wednesday afternoon, Cook told the board.

Mail ballots must be physically in the election bureau by 8 p.m. on Election Day, and postmarks do not count.

The county’s mail ballot drop boxes have been activated in the Broad Street Business Exchange Building in Hazleton and the county’s Penn Place Building in Wilkes-Barre.

The drop box schedule has been posted on the county site:

• The Hazleton box at 100 W. Broad St. is available weekdays from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and will stop accepting ballots at 4 p.m. May 18.

• The box in Penn Place, located at 20 N. Pennsylvania Ave., is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and will accept returns until 8 p.m. on Election Day.

Board Vice Chairman Rick Morelli asked Cook if other election staffing is sufficient.

Cook said she has no concerns. The bureau has been bringing in supplemental seasonal workers sooner for training and assignments and has a “solid team” to assist before and after the election, she said.

Voter ID

Morelli passed out a proposal for discussion and legal review that would assign workers to conduct an anonymous survey 15 to 20 feet outside the entrances of five polling places in the November general election. It includes a question about voter identification.

His three proposed survey questions:

• Did you encounter any issues voting today? (yes/no)

• How would you rate your voting experience today? (easy/neutral/difficult)

• Would you be willing to present identification when voting if it were required? (yes/no/unsure)

Morelli said he wants to collect data on voter ID.

Board Chairwoman Christine Boyle and Board members Audrey Serniak and Albert Schlosser expressed concerns about the board authorizing such a survey and linking it to the election while using county resources.

Boyle said she does not believe a survey on a legislative matter is a “core function” of the board.

Serniak said surveys can be conducted by outside groups and that an election board-sanctioned one could suggest the board is taking a position.

“We follow the laws. We don’t create laws,” Serniak said.

Morelli said voter ID is “a topic that’s not going away,” and he believes the county should be proactive in obtaining public input and encouraging discussion.

Assistant Solicitor Gene Molino said he will research whether the board has the authority to authorize an Election Day survey and other related legal questions.