Dorrance Township man raises concerns about late mailing of ballots

Dorrance Township resident Tom Bukowski said he was frustrated but tried to be understanding when his mail ballot arrived too late to mail it in for the April special election, but now the same situation occurred for Tuesday’s primary election.

“This is the second time this happened to me. I just want to prevent this from happening again to myself and others,” Bukowski said.

A registered Republican, Bukowski said he supports the mail voting option because he likes to research candidates and their platforms on his computer with the ballot right there, making selections as he decides. He’s also had trouble securing a parking spot in the small lot at his polling place — the township municipal building — on Election Day, with some spots used up by candidate supporters, he said.

“I welcome mail ballots because it is much more convenient,” Bukowski said.

To ensure his annual mail ballot application request for 2022 elections was timely, he applied early this year.

However, Bukowski said his ballot for the special April 5 state representative election in the 116th Legislative District arrived a few days before the election.

He drove directly to a post office hoping it would get to the county election bureau faster but said he received an email three or four days after the election informing him his ballot was not counted because it arrived after the 8 p.m. Election Day deadline.

Bukowski said he contacted the election bureau to see if he was among those impacted by a glitch that caused their ballots to be mailed out late, but he was informed he was not on that list.

He was referring to a state glitch in uploading voter data to the county that caused 305 voters to receive their mail ballots late before that special election. The county obtained court permission to tally these 305 ballots up to a week after the election as long as they were postmarked by the day before the election.

“I was disappointed but let it be until the same thing happened this election,” Bukowski said. “A second time tells me it’s a systemic problem with that office.”

Bukowski started becoming concerned early in the week of May 9 because the county had announced it would be sending primary ballots to voters on April 30, and his had not arrived.

He said he contacted the bureau on May 10 and was informed the bureau was not sure what happened. He called back the following day and said he was informed a number of ballots, including his, did not go out due to a glitch.

“I never would have received a ballot, apparently, unless I called them,” he said.

Bukowski said he was put on hold during that second inquiry and then informed the bureau was going to expedite the ballot to him. The worker also said the bureau director was going to talk to him, but he said he was transferred to voice mail and left a message reiterating his concerns.

He ended up receiving the ballot priority mail express on Friday, saying it cost taxpayers $26.95 extra to send it in that format.

There’s no way it will arrive in the election bureau on time if he mails it now, and he said does not want to make a special trip to a drop box in Wright Township, let alone Wilkes-Barre, especially with the price of gas. His residence is in the Wapwallopen area.

Instead, Bukowski said he plans to take the ballot package the county sent him to the township polling place on Election Day so it can be voided, allowing him to cast his ballot on an electronic ballot marking device. He said he will have to write out a list of his choices in advance.

“I don’t want my vote to not be counted the second election in a row,” he said.

If voters requested but never received a mail ballot, they can cast a paper provisional ballot at the polls.

Provisional ballots are marked by hand and reviewed last so the county can verify a mail ballot was not also received from that voter. The details are important for provisional ballots. They must be placed in a secrecy envelope, which is then inserted in an outer envelope. Three signatures — two from the voter and one from the judge of elections — are required on the outer envelope for the vote to count.

County election officials said they will further research Bukowski’s case to determine why it keeps occurring

County Election Director Michael Susek said he did not immediately have a comment on what caused Bukowski’s mail ballot issues but said the bureau worked to address it by rush-delivering the primary ballot. He said there were no widespread glitches or issues that caused groups of voters to receive mail ballots late for the primary.

Bukowski said he doesn’t understand why the mailing of his ballot is an issue, particularly because he applied early for all elections this year.

“It’s a very simple thing. I don’t know why it’s so difficult to achieve,” he said. “There are no problems with bills and junk mail getting to me.”