Luzerne County Election Board members weigh in on May 17 primary

As they voted to close out the May 17 primary Monday, Luzerne County’s bi-partisan election board members weighed in on the process.

Republican Jim Mangan, the newest board member appointed by county council in May, said he had been unaware of the time and resources invested in conducting elections. He thanked election bureau staff, county Acting Manager Brian Swetz, board Solicitor Paula L. Radick and others involved in the primary, describing their assistance as “phenomenal.”

“I feel so confident that while the process — as with any process — could continue to to improve, what I saw really reaffirmed for me my reasons for now being on this board and serving the voters of Luzerne County,” he said during the meeting at the county courthouse in Wilkes-Barre.

Mangan described the board’s work overseeing the vote tally and adjudication as a “trial by fire” and “fast and furious” but said he is now heading into the November general election with a better understanding of the process. He said he looks forward to working with fellow volunteer board members to “make it even better.”

Alyssa Fusaro, the other Republican on the five-person board, said everyone worked “very, very hard and very, very diligently.

Two or three issues arose, and they were “handled perfectly and very well,” she said.

“I think everybody did a great job,” Fusaro said.

She reiterated her praise for Swetz “really stepping up to the plate” assigning additional county workers to assist and the election bureau staff for handling stressful situations with grace.

Democrats Audrey Serniak, Danny Schramm and Denise Williams also are on the board, with Williams serving as chair.

Serniak said the general public does not realize how much time, manpower, equipment and organization are needed to process the election results from start to finish, and she credited those assisting the board.

“As Mr. Mangan said, it’s just a continuing process of trying to get better, trying to really count what legally we should count and not reject anybody we shouldn’t reject,” Serniak said. “It’s a tremendous undertaking, and I just want to thank everyone. I think we all did a really good job stepping up and getting this done.”

Williams said she concurs with the other board members and described the process — including a state-mandated recount in the U.S. Senate race — as “going through everything with a fine-tooth comb.”

The board devoted approximately two weeks and three days observing and making decisions, Williams said.

“I’m very confident in all that we did and all that we oversaw in the process with the election bureau staff that there was real due diligence on our part and on the part of the bureau and bureau leadership,” Williams said, noting the election bureau has been “going strong” since February and March because it had a special election in the 116th state legislative district on April 5.

All five board members voted to certify the primary election results.

During public comment, Salem Township resident Claudia Glennan thanked board members for volunteering their time to complete the long, tedious process.

Glennan said she spent nine hours observing the board’s adjudication one day and urged voters to stop creating more work for these volunteers by entering “silly comments” in the write-in slots.

“I had no clue about the amount of time that you actually have to spend on picky little details,” Glennan told the board. “Thank you everyone for everything you do. I really appreciate it.”