Mail ballot drop boxes dominate Luzerne County Election Board meeting

Once again, mail ballot drop boxes dominated Wednesday’s Luzerne County Election Board meeting.

After heated debate, a board majority had voted in March to provide five drop boxes in the May 17 primary and going forward. The vote was along party lines, supported by Democrats Denise Williams, Audrey Serniak and Danny Schramm and rejected by Republican board members Alyssa Fusaro and Patrick Castellani. Castellani subsequently resigned from the volunteer seat, citing drop boxes as the reason.

Four Republican county council members attended Wednesday’s election board meeting to speak against the use of drop boxes: Brian Thornton, Gregory Wolovich Jr. and Kevin Lescavage attending in person and Stephen J. Urban, who participated remotely.

Thornton said he spoke to many voters throughout the county over the last 15 months and found the use of drop boxes was their top concern, even more than illegal immigration and high energy prices. Many believe drop boxes are “being abused” and not properly monitored or secured, ruining public confidence in the voting process, he said.

He added he is “deeply disappointed” in the board’s decision and said drop boxes should not be considered unless each box is monitored by security personnel or high resolution cameras with facial recognition.

“I implore you to reconsider your decision and stop drop boxes to keep public confidence high,” Thornton said.

Wolovich concurred and said the differing hours at the five locations is discriminatory.

Lescavage urged the board to get rid of the drop boxes, saying there is no need now that the country is transitioning out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Urban also raised security concerns and said half the counties in the state don’t offer drop boxes.

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 starting with the primary.

At one point during Wednesday’s meeting, which ran about five hours, Fusaro said she would only be comfortable providing drop boxes if the county installed its own cameras at the drop box locations, with capability for the county to remotely view the video live and archive the recordings.

She obtained a tentative cost estimate of approximately $30,000 to install and set up a county camera system.

“We have to do it. We don’t have a choice. We don’t have the proper surveillance currently with our drop boxes,” Fusaro said.

Williams said the county is meeting all state guidelines by requiring drop box locations to perform video surveillance, retain the recordings for at least 60 days following the election certification and furnish those recordings to the county upon request.

The board has received and reviewed recordings to investigate a complaint about a woman, reportedly from a nursing home, who deposited or attempted to deposit multiple ballots at Penn Place, officials said. That matter was referred to the county District Attorney’s Office and remains under investigation.

Williams said the estimate obtained by Fusaro does not include the cost for staff to monitor the cameras and questioned whether the outside drop box locations would permit work to install county cameras when they already have their own.

“It’s overkill for a problem that doesn’t exist, that keeps being inflamed. It’s not real,” Williams said, describing the proposal as unwarranted, expensive and impractical.

She reiterated that drop boxes are more secure because there is no surveillance of voters dropping off ballots through the U.S. Postal system.

“Don’t try to say it’s fake,” Fusaro said in reference to voters dropping off more than their own ballot without required authorization, referring to a case in Montgomery County.

County council would have to approve any purchase of a county security system for the drop boxes due to the dollar amount, said board Solicitor Paula L. Radick.

In a last-ditch effort to make some accommodation, Fusaro proposed the county require all drop box locations to turn over all surveillance recordings after each election, following security protocols, so they can be kept in storage with ballots and other election material in the county according to state guidelines.

That motion failed, with Schramm and Fusaro voting yes and Serniak and Williams in opposition. Council has not yet filled the fifth board seat vacated by Castellani, which must be held by another Republican.

While criticism of drop boxes was strong, several residents commended the board for providing the option.

Citizen Jay Notartomaso urged the board to expand ballot drop boxes, accusing those challenging the boxes of voter suppression and intentionally “selling fear.”