Luzerne County Election Board votes to keep ballot drop boxes

After hearing citizen comments for and against, a Luzerne County Election Board majority voted Wednesday to provide mail ballot drop boxes inside five buildings in the May 17 primary election and going forward.

The vote was along party lines, with Republican board members Patrick Castellani and Alyssa Fusaro voting against the drop boxes and Democrats Denise Williams, Audrey Serniak and Danny Schramm in support.

Four drop boxes will be in the same locations used in the Nov. 2 general election: the county-owned Penn Place Building in downtown Wilkes-Barre, the Pittston Memorial Library in Pittston, Hazleton City Hall, and the Wright Township Volunteer Fire Department in Mountain Top.

The board also added a fifth Back Mountain drop box location at Misericordia University pending an agreement with the institution.

The motion also indicated the drop boxes would automatically remain the same in future elections, with a vote required only if there are location changes.

A counter-top box is used at Penn Place, and mailbox-style boxes will be placed in the other four locations because they are too heavy and bulky to steal.

Officials said the boxes will be under video surveillance and contain visible signs informing voters they are under surveillance and prohibited from delivering someone else’s ballot unless they are rendering assistance to a disabled or emergency absentee voter. Such third-party deliveries require a declaration signed by both the voter and person providing assistance.

Fusaro, participating in her first meeting on the board, offered a passionate plea to end the drop boxes, saying she received communications from approximately 60 residents opposing drop boxes, compared to 33 in support.

“It’s been a hot topic for many,” Fusaro said.

She rattled off a long list of complaints, saying the county is relying on the drop box location hosts to conduct video recording of the boxes instead of performing its own surveillance. Fusaro expressed concerns about voters dropping off multiple ballots and said the drop boxes are not uniform because the hours vary on when they are available. The law does not mandate that counties provide drop boxes, she added. She also cited drop box fires that have occurred in other states.

Williams, the board chair, said drop boxes are more secure than mail boxes because they are inside public buildings and under surveillance.

A court ruling allows election boards to provide drop boxes, and the county has been offering them since the November 2020 election, she said.

Williams said 5,400 county voters of all political affiliations preferred to use drop boxes in the 2021 general election for reasons that include convenience, lack of trust in the postal service, a concern the ballots won’t reach the election bureau in time and protection of the signature on outer mailing envelopes.

Serniak said the county has improved the drop box style and implemented security protocols, noting no board members are proposing drop boxes outside buildings. She said she has great faith in the county District Attorney’s Office to investigate any allegations of ballot harvesting.

Schramm said the drop boxes are more secure because they are inside buildings with security cameras, unlike mail boxes, he said.

Castellani did not comment during the vote but said later he is not comfortable drop boxes are a secure voting method at this time and that the county is not required to provide them.

In the upcoming April 5 special election for the 116th Legislative District, the board had voted last month to provide drop boxes in Hazleton City Hall and Penn Place. The board had decided against adding a second box in the special election, largely due to a concern voters would be confused in future regular elections when the additional box was no longer available.

In other business Wednesday, Castellani was unanimously named board vice chair.