Luzerne County Election Day reminders

Primary election day is here, and Luzerne County’s polling places will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Voters can view a list of all polling places under the election bureau’s primary election link at luzernecounty.org.

Harveys Lake residents are reminded their polling place was temporarily changed from the borough municipal building to Our Lady of Victory Church at 16 Second St.

At the polls, voters make selections on touchscreen machines and then receive a paper ballot printout to verify their choices. After reviewing this printout, voters must feed the paper into a tabulator. County officials emphasize voters should not leave the polling place with this paper because it must be entered into the tabulator to lock in their vote.

Those with questions or concerns about the ballot marking devices, printouts or tabulators — or anything else they encounter in the polling place — should alert the judge of elections before they cast their ballots so the judge can assess the situation and, if warranted, resolve it, officials say.

First-time voters should bring proper identification materials. A list of ID options is posted under the voter registration link at votepa.gov.

A total 176,031 county voters are registered to pick their party’s nominees today — 93,546 Democrats and 82,485 Republicans.

Although Pennsylvania has closed primaries, voters with any affiliation or no affiliation are permitted to vote on primary ballot questions in Pittston and Wright Township in today’s primary. The four Pittston questions are related to proposed city home rule charter amendments, and the Wright Township question involves a requested real estate tax increase to purchase and maintain fire apparatus.

For mail ballot voters, completed ballots must be physically in the county election bureau by 8 p.m. tonight.

The drop box at the county’s Penn Place, 20 N Pennsylvania Ave., Wilkes-Barre, will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Mail voters who did not return their ballots also can bring the ballot package that had been sent to them — the ballot and both envelopes — to their polling place so it can be voided, allowing them to cast their ballot on the electronic ballot marking devices.

Voters who requested but never received a mail ballot 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 Acting Manager Romilda Crocamo said the goal is always to process all mail ballots by election night so those results can be included in the evening’s unofficial tally, but she stressed there is no guarantee.

A team of approximately 10 to 15 county workers will be sworn in to start unsealing mail envelopes and scanning the ballots, known as pre-canvassing, inside a third-floor courtroom at Penn Place this morning.

By law, counties cannot start to record and publish the mail ballot results until the polls close at 8 p.m., officials said.

The pre-canvassing is open to party observers, but the public is not granted entry until 8 p.m.

As usual, results will be posted and updated at luzernecounty.org after the polls close.

The state’s electionreturns.pa.gov site will provide updated unofficial results in state races.

Voters may call 570-825-1715 or email elections@luzernecounty.org for assistance or to report any issues.