Workers pre-canvass mail-in ballots in Luzerne County during the 2020 election. Luzerne County’s Election Board is sending letters this week as part of its effort to learn why this year’s general election mail ballots were not received from by some voters who requested them.
File photo
Luzerne County’s Election Board is sending letters this week as part of its effort to learn why Nov. 2 mail ballots were not received from by some voters who requested them.
The county election bureau said it sent 25,112 mail ballots, but only 18,250 were returned and counted by the 8 p.m. Election Day deadline.
After ruling out ballots that came in after the deadline and mail voters who ended up casting provisional ballots at the polls instead, the board concluded approximately 6,135 voters did not return mail ballots that were logged as sent to them.
Of those, around 1,380 have been randomly selected to receive letters seeking feedback, board Chairwoman Denise Williams said Wednesday.
The letter informs voters their input is requested as part of the board’s “continuing commitment to improve elections” in the county.
“We would like your help to make improvements,” it says.
It asks recipients to send their responses to several questions and share any input about their election experience to the board at ElectionBoard@Luzernecounty.org.
Voters are asked if they received their mail ballot and, if so, whether they can recall the approximate receipt date.
For those never receiving a ballot, it asks if they contacted the election bureau to report the matter and what response they received in return.
The letter asks those who received a ballot if they completed and returned it to the bureau. If they did, it asks the approximate return date and how it was returned — by mail, a ballot drop box or in-person delivery to the election bureau.
”We also encourage you to include anything else you would like to share with the Board of Election members regarding Luzerne County’s election process,” it says.
Williams had proposed the idea of a random survey at a meeting of the five-citizen volunteer board earlier this month, saying the volume of unreturned ballots was a “large number” and a “big question mark” for her.
Board members initially planned to each contact some voters by phone, but Williams said that approach was nixed because the state’s voter database does not contain the phone numbers of voters.
Letters may be better because voters are likely to associate phone calls with telemarketing solicitations or scams, she said.
“I think this will result in a more accurate response,” Williams said. “I’m looking forward to hearing back from voters.”
Board members will discuss the findings at their next meeting Jan. 12, Williams said.
Poll workers
Letters also will go out in early 2022 to the county’s approximately 1,000 election cay poll workers to formally inform them of a new training requirement and compensation change, Williams said.
Starting with the 2022 primary, first-time poll workers won’t be permitted to work unless they attend a training, and all poll workers must attend at least one training annually.
The board approved this change in August to ensure those staffing polling places on election day are educated on procedures and responsibilities.
The upcoming letter also will alert poll workers they won’t receive a $20 training stipend unless they attend training, Williams said.
In the past, the stipend was automatically paid by the county. Williams has said the $20 cost county taxpayers $11,660 in this year’s primary because 583 poll workers did not undergo training.
Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.
