Luzerne County unable to retrieve voter photographs from mail ballot drop box

Luzerne County has been unable to retrieve Nov. 4 general election voter photographs from a mail ballot drop box that was purchased largely for that enhanced security feature, county Election Director Emily Cook said Wednesday.

The county participated in a pilot program to use the $12,000 box from Runbeck Election Services for the May 20 primary election. The box is designed to capture photographs of both the person’s face at the box and each side of the inserted envelope, along with the date and time the images were captured.

Cook said she performed basic troubleshooting, attempting to retrieve the photographs, with no success. She is awaiting an in-person visit by Runbeck representatives for a final determination on whether images can be accessed.

County Manager Romilda Crocamo said Wednesday she will seek a full refund from Runbeck if the drop box is not providing the promised features, adding the county has no control over the inner workings of the equipment. She stressed the Election Board has final say over drop box usage.

Cook said the box worked very well in the primary election, accurately generating information. As a result, the county continued deploying the box inside the county’s Penn Place Building in downtown Wilkes-Barre for the Nov. 4 general.

The box also has multiple points of internal fire suppression in the event an explosive material is somehow inserted through the opening. The slot itself is fitted to the width of a mail ballot envelope to prevent the insertion of more than one ballot at a time.

Cook said the bureau recently discovered the missing images when it collected drop box data for a post-election review by the Election Board, she said.

Following past protocol for bipartisan board spot-checks of drop boxes, Election Board Chairwoman Christine Boyle, a Democrat, and board Vice Chairwoman Alyssa Fusaro, a Republican, have been reviewing drop box surveillance footage.

Cook said the county provides video surveillance of drop boxes as required by the election board, and those recordings have been supplied for the board’s bipartisan review.

Boyle and Fusaro sent an email to Cook on Tuesday requesting better positioning of the video surveillance camera in the Penn Place lobby, saying the “apparent failure” of the drop box photo feature “further highlights the need.”

The email from Boyle and Fusaro said they have learned the county security footage does not provide an overhead vantage point of the Penn Place lobby box to see if a voter may be depositing more than one ballot.

Under state law, voters are only allowed to mail or hand-deliver their own ballot unless they are serving as an agent for someone with a disability.

Election Board members had discussed repositioning of the surveillance camera after the May primary, but did not make a formal request for the change, the email said.

“We are formally requesting that for future elections that security footage overhead of the drop box with a full view of the faces of the voters as well as what they are depositing be provided,” the email said.

Crocamo said she will accommodate their surveillance camera request for future elections.

In addition to the Penn Place box, the county provides standard mailbox-style boxes inside the county-owned Broad Street Business Exchange Building in downtown Hazleton, and in the election bureau office on the second floor of Penn Place.

Due to the missing photographs and insufficient surveillance video of the Penn Place lobby box, Fusaro said Wednesday that the only feasible review that could be performed was for the Hazleton and election bureau office boxes.

In their last post-primary bipartisan review of Penn Place drop box photographs and video surveillance footage, Boyle and Fusaro found 36 instances in which voters deposited more than one ballot. They concluded most appeared to involve voters dropping off ballots with the same family surname or physical address, Boyle had said.

Cook briefed County Council on the matter Wednesday, saying Runbeck will attempt to retrieve the images that “should have backed up to a redundant internal device.”

“We will provide an update following the vendor’s evaluation to better explain the issue and make all resolutions,” Cook wrote.