Special Luzerne County Council meeting set on ballot machine purchase

Luzerne County Council will hold a special meeting at 5 p.m. Monday to vote on the election bureau’s request to use state grant funding to purchase a mail ballot sorting machine that would speed up the tallying of election results and streamline operations.

A prompt decision is necessary because there is only a week to act for the machine to be ordered and in place for the Nov. 8 general election.

A flurry of email exchanges among some council members and others in recent days focused heavily on why another supplier of sorting equipment was not considered.

County Manager Randy Robertson said Thursday that this other system is not solely for elections and has not been used for ballot sorting in any Pennsylvania elections.

The Agilis Mail Ballot Sorting System the bureau wants to purchase through Runbeck Election Solutions also has already interfaced with Pennsylvania’s voter database system, he said.

Robertson said he would not want this county to be the first to use a new system.

“We understand the difference of opinion and zeal of those inside and outside council to constantly look for the best and most efficient purchases, but there’s no question this purchase has been thoroughly vetted by the administration and is tailored to meet the needs of this county,” Robertson said.

Robertson said the county law office is preparing a legal briefing for council to address questions that had been raised about why the bureau was not seeking approval from the citizen election board to purchase the equipment and why the machine was deemed a “sole source” purchase not requiring the county to seek proposals from other vendors.

The administration has fully researched the legality, finances and capabilities of the proposed purchase, the manager said.

“It’s been vetted and re-vetted,” he said.

Robertson also questioned the move by parties outside the administration to contact another vendor and get involved in contract negotiation discussions on the county’s behalf.

“All we simply ask council members is that if they have a different opinion to say yes or no and not start vetting or seeking out other proposals,” Robertson said.

He reiterated the machine will reduce the need to pull county workers away from duties in other departments to assist with the scanning and time-stamping of at least 18,000 incoming mail ballots leading up to the election. Based on the envelope weight, the machine will instantly weed out those missing inner secrecy envelopes or containing more than the one permissible ballot inside, sorting those for further review, the administration said.

The administration wants to purchase the machine using a new $1.04 million state election integrity grant designed to ensure counties across the state have their mail ballots counted by midnight on election night.

The $490,500 purchase price includes $315,000 for the system and an annual $35,000 licensing and service agreement for five years. Council must approve the purchase under the county’s home rule charter because it is locked in for future years.

Monday’s meeting is at the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre. Instructions for remote attendance are posted under council’s online meeting link at luzernecounty.org.