Luzerne County Election Bureau reports accidental issuance of duplicate ballots

Luzerne County’s Election Bureau reported several issues with mail ballots Wednesday.

Due to a data export error, 937 county voters received two copies of the Nov. 8 general election mail ballots they requested, the election bureau said Wednesday.

It was discovered because some of the impacted voters contacted the election bureau to report the issue, said county Acting Election Director Beth McBride and county Administrative Services Division Head Jennifer Pecora.

Voters were advised to disregard and destroy the second copy, they said.

Even if the voter (or someone else) attempted to cast the extra ballot, the second one would not be accepted, McBride and Pecora said.

Both copies contained identical barcodes identifying that voter in the state’s database, they said. These barcodes are scanned as ballots arrive in the election bureau, and the state system will flag and reject a ballot if one already has been received from an individual, they said.

The mailing of duplicate ballots occurred when the bureau encountered problems while exporting mail voter data to the printer on Oct. 26 — a task that is performed daily during the mail ballot processing period, McBride and Pecora said. As a result of the technological issues, the export performed the next day contained some overlap, resulting in two copies sent to the 937 voters, they said.

Ballots discovered

A U.S. Postal Service inspector appeared at the bureau Tuesday to report two mail ballots filled out by voters had been discovered on a sidewalk in Plymouth, McBride and Pecora said.

According to McBride and Pecora:

The person who discovered the ballots turned them in at the borough police department, which in turn contacted the postal service. The District Attorney’s Office is investigating.

The bureau contacted both Plymouth voters and had only reached one by Wednesday afternoon. This voter told the bureau she had clipped her completed mail ballot packet on the outside of her residential mail box to be picked up by her mail carrier for delivery, not realizing it had been stolen.

Both mail ballots have been voided in the state election system, and new ones have been issued to both voters.

The bureau was unable to comment further due to the ongoing investigation.

Mail ballot returns

The county ended up issuing mail ballots to 33,657 voters who requested them before Tuesday’s 5 p.m. application deadline, McBride and Pecora said.

By Wednesday afternoon, 22,515 completed ballots had been returned to the bureau, or 67%, they said.

As usual, some voters have been contacting the bureau by phone and email to report they have not received their requested ballots, they said.

In all instances so far, the ballot tracking system shows the ballots were mailed through the U.S. Postal Service, they said.

When this situation occurs, the bureau voids the previously issued ballot and linked barcode and prepares a fresh ballot with a new bar code, McBride and Pecora said. Voiding of the original ballot and corresponding barcode ensures it will not be accepted in the system if it later surfaces and is submitted, they said.

Because the election is rapidly approaching, McBride and Pecora said they have been attempting to personally deliver the reissued ballots to voters who reported they never received the original ones sent.

In special circumstances for outlying areas, the bureau will send reissued ballots through overnight delivery, although that option is a last resort because it costs approximately $30, they said. The election bureau has used overnight delivery in similar situations for prior elections.

Ballot drop off

Voters who have not yet returned their mail ballots are now advised to deposit them in drop boxes or bring them to the counter of the election bureau because there is no guarantee they will arrive in time through the U.S. Postal Service, McBride and Pecora said.

Pennsylvania Acting Secretary of State Leigh M. Chapman has issued a similar reminder for voters to hand-deliver their ballots as soon as possible.

Completed mail ballots must be received in the county election bureau by 8 p.m. on Election Day, and postmarks do not count.

The county’s drop box sites and hours:

• Wright Township Volunteer Fire Dept., 477 S. Main Road, Mountain Top — Thursday and Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Monday (Nov. 7), 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• Pittston Memorial Library, 47 Broad St., Pittston — Thursday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Monday (Nov. 7), 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

• Misericordia University (Passan Hall), 100 Lake St., Dallas — Thursday and Friday, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Monday (Nov. 7), 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• Penn Place, 20 N. Pennsylvania Ave., Wilkes-Barre — Thursday and Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Monday (Nov. 7), 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; and Election Day, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Penn Place, which is county-owned and houses the election bureau, is the only drop box location available on Election Day.

Voters who applied for and received a mail ballot and then decide they want to vote on the ballot marking devices at the polls must bring their mail ballot packet with them to be voided, including the outer return envelope.

If a voter applied for a mail ballot but did not receive it or no longer has the mail ballot and envelopes, they may vote by provisional ballot at their polling place on Election Day.

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.

For in-person voting, polling places are open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. on Election Day.