Luzerne County activates new online application option for poll watcher certificates

Luzerne County’s Election Bureau has created and activated an option for election poll watcher certificate requests, county Election Director Emily Cook said Thursday.

In the past, certificate applicants had to visit the county election bureau in Wilkes-Barre or download and send the request form to the bureau.

Certificates are required for representatives of candidates and political parties to enter Election Day polling places as observers. Approved poll watchers also may observe the county’s Election Day “pre-canvassing,” when mail ballots are unsealed and processed so results can be quickly uploaded after the polls close at 8 p.m.

“They are authorized to be there to watch the process,” Cook said of poll watchers approved to be inside polling places for the Nov. 4 general election. “They can ask questions or challenge things, but they cannot actively interfere with or interact with voters.”

The request link is posted on the election page at luzernecounty.org.

“We’re trying to make the entire pre-election process smoother for our candidates,” Cook said. “We are streamlining a lot of the documents we require and bringing the county election process into the next stage of efficient user technology.”

She pointed to the bureau’s implementation of an online filing option for campaign finance reports, also accessible at luzernecounty.org.

According to the poll watcher form, each candidate may appoint two watchers in each election district where the candidate appears on the ballot.

Political parties may appoint three watchers in each election district where their nominated candidate is on the ballot, it said.

Applicants must state the name of each watcher as it appears on their voter registration, their date of birth and address.

Candidates and party chairs must specify who the watcher represents and the polling place that will be observed.

Watcher certificates are only valid for the person and location stated on the certificate and cannot be transferred to or used by someone else, Cook said.

The election bureau will start releasing the approved watcher certificates on the Monday before the election, Cook said.

Election Day pre-canvassing of mail ballots will start at 7 a.m. on the third floor of the county’s Penn Place Building, 20 N. Pennsylvania Ave. in Wilkes-Barre.

That process is not open to the general public. Observers authorized to attend are prohibited from disclosing any mail ballot results until the polls close at 8 p.m., the county’s official notice says.