Luzerne County election inquiry panel lists numerous problems

Most of Luzerne County Council’s two-hour Election Inquiry Committee meeting Thursday was spent compiling a lengthy list problems encountered in the Nov. 3 general election, including late starts at some polling places and voter confusion about polling locations and how to use the new voting machines.

Council created the committee largely in response to the premature unsealing and discarding of nine overseas military Nov. 3 election mail ballots by a temporary worker. That matter is still under federal investigation, although county Manager C. David Pedri said required information was retrieved to count all nine votes.

Councilwoman Linda McClosky Houck, who is chairing the committee, said council members received many comments and questions about Tuesday’s general election. She welcomed feedback Thursday, saying it will help the committee identify issues that should be reviewed.

Stephen J. Urban, who also serves on the committee along with council colleagues Sheila Saidman and Harry Haas, said the county must do a better job checking equipment to make sure it is properly programmed and functional.

An electronic poll book — the device used to track and sign in voters — was programmed for the incorrect location at a Pittston polling place and not working properly, delaying the 7 a.m. start time, he said.

Several polling places opened late. Party officials did not opt to seek a court order to extend their hours, but Urban argued the county should automatically seek such extensions on its own.

Urban also said he knew of two poll books that were not printing properly and poll book batteries prematurely dying.

Amid other preparations, poll workers in some locations struggled to update the latest information on poll books before they opened — a step necessary to ensure all voters who already submitted mail ballots were recorded and not permitted to vote a second time, Urban said.

More call-takers and rovers assisting with technical issues should be mobilized before 7 a.m. on Election Day so all locations can open on time, particularly because many voters want to vote first thing, Urban said.

Saidman said she wants to know how the county prepares for inevitable poll worker vacancies because she was informed some assigned to work did not show up.

Haas said there were a “whole lot of poll worker no-shows,” including ones that caused a shortage at his Kingston polling place. County officials had put out a plea for poll workers, but Haas said he spoke to someone who had signed up but was informed by the election bureau that it had enough.

He also asserted many of the county’s new electronic ballot marking devices “were down,” and he wants a number and explanation supplied to the committee.

Another problem was voters leaving the polls without feeding their printouts into a tabulator, which is the step needed to cast the vote.

“There were a lot of dropped balls here,” Haas said.

Pedri said he looks forward to the committee’s recommendations and is open to any suggestions that can be added to his own internal post-election assessment.

“Our goal in every department is to get better. If there’s any way we can get better, of course I’m interested,” Pedri said.

At the same time, he said the election was a “great success.”

More than 149,000 county voters cast their ballots, and all properly-cast votes have been counted accurately and promptly, with only provisional and flagged ballots awaiting county Election Board adjudication, Pedri said.

During public comment, Councilman Walter Griffith said customer service was “very, very lacking” in Tuesday’s general.

Polling locations servicing voters from multiple wards should have signs away from the building to form separate lines so voters from both are not waiting in the same one, he said. A screener with a laptop also should be available when long lines form to help voters identify their ward and make sure they are at the right place so they do not unnecessarily wait in the wrong line or location for extended periods, Griffith said.

The printer for the ballot marking devices also was in a “horrendous place” at the bottom of the machine, making it difficult for some elderly or disabled voters to reach down and retrieve it without assistance that could invade their privacy, he said.

Griffith suggested the county allow poll workers to set up their machines and other equipment in advance, leaving only the unsealing of the equipment and other last-minute preparations before 7 a.m. on Election Day.

He also maintained there were not enough rovers to address the demand for assistance with equipment and that most poll workers were not properly trained or did not understand the protocol for spoiling/voiding ballots.

Councilwoman LeeAnn McDermott said she received many similar complaints and suggested signs at polling place exits or on the ballot marking devices reminding voters to make sure they scan their ballots.

McDermott said a friend was contacted by the county at 9 p.m. the night before the election informing her to show up at the polls to work at 6:15 a.m. the next day, even though she was not trained.

Jackson Township resident Richard Manta said he had signed up to be a poll worker and was informed he was not needed.

Two citizens who served as poll watchers — Brian Dwyer of Larksville and Ronald Knapp of Nanticoke — said they observed inadequate training and equipment or preparation issues that unnecessarily added to voter wait times.