Dallas City News

Luzerne County will keep two mail ballot drop boxes on county-owned property for the Nov. 5 general election, but the two boxes hosted by outside entities cannot be deployed because they cannot be anchored to the floor or a wall, county Election Board Chairwoman Denise Williams announced during Wednesday’s meeting.

Boxes were already set up at the county-owned properties — the Broad Street Exchange in Hazleton and Penn Place Building in Wilkes-Barre.

Deployment of the two remaining boxes at the Wright Manor senior living facility in Mountain Top and Misericordia University’s Passan Hall in Dallas was held up pending approval of the hosts and other considerations.

While both outside sites agreed to allow the boxes with video surveillance recording as in the past, they cannot allow modifications for the boxes to be anchored to a floor or wall, officials said.

County Manager Romilda Crocamo told the board Tuesday it must make a decision on how to proceed because she had agreed to comply with the board’s 2022 resolution regarding drop boxes. This resolution said the boxes “should be secured in a manner to prevent their unauthorized removal,” moving or tampering, such as fastening the box to concrete or an immovable object.

Anchoring is also recommended in Pennsylvania Department of State guidance from 2023, officials said.

County Assistant Solicitor Gene Molino told the board there is no “law” governing drop box requirements to consult in this matter. Drop boxes are permitted to be used by county election boards, but they are not required by either statute or case law, he said.

The board discussed the anchoring and other security matters related to the drop boxes during a closed-door executive session preceding Wednesday’s meeting.

Williams had initially proposed adding several security measures to supplement the 24/7 video surveillance recording of the boxes already provided, including staffing the boxes. However, she made a motion at the start of Wednesday’s meeting to remove that vote from the agenda.

Drop boxes were on Wednesday’s agenda because Republican board member Rick Morelli sought a vote to eliminate all four boxes due to security concerns that had been raised by Crocamo.

Alyssa Fusaro, the other Republican board member, concurred with removal of all four boxes.

The three Democratic board members — Williams, Albert Schlosser and Daniel Schramm — voted to keep the boxes.

As in numerous past public decisions related to drop boxes, Wednesday’s board vote drew a strong response. During more than hour of public comment, 23 citizens spoke or submitted email comments about drop boxes, with 14 supporting them and nine calling for their elimination.

County drop boxes have been in the limelight because Crocamo had announced Sept. 18 the boxes would not be deployed due to security concerns. Last Friday she agreed to provide the boxes in response to Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle A. Henry’s letter informing her the county election board has sole authority over the deployment of drop boxes under the state’s election code. A board majority had approved the four boxes used in prior elections.

Before voting on Morelli’s motion to remove the boxes, each board member presented their reasons.

A summary:

• Morelli said he respects opinions on both sides but believes there are valid security concerns for the Nov. 5 general as presented by Crocamo.

“If anyone thinks there are no security issues out there and that we shouldn’t be concerned, think again,” he said.

He said he requested a fresh vote as a result to force board members to take responsibility if something happens.

Morelli also argued the board does not have a “legitimate plan when it comes to safety” of the boxes.

He disagreed drop box elimination would disenfranchise voters as some have argued or that the boxes make voting more convenient, saying two boxes require traveling distance for many voters.

Morelli also said the board must be mindful of the sheriff deputy staffing shortage and noted he was informed the county cannot use state Election Integrity Grant funds to acquire outside security to man the boxes.

• Fusaro concurred with Morelli and said there are “serious threats” and that the board is unable to meet security recommendations set forth by the state.

She said the county law office and controller both concluded drop box expenses are not allowable under the election integrity grant, which means there is an impact on the county’s general fund.

Fusaro also said she is concerned the county would be on the hook for issues that are not fully covered by insurance and called for a separate drop box financial accounting in the county budget to give county council a say in the matter.

She maintained drop boxes go against a mandate for election uniformity because they are not provided by all counties.

• Schramm said he supports drop boxes because he knows many people who do not want to go the polls.

He cited a Justice Department arrest this week over the alleged plotting of an Election Day attack targeting large crowds in the U.S.

“How secure are the polls?” Schramm asked. “How do you protect yourself against that?”

Schramm asserted drop box opponents are discouraging people from voting and disputed that fraud is an issue because mail ballots are linked to individual voters through the use of a bar code.

In the event something occurs, he believes impacted voters would come forward and request new ballots, saying the checks and balances in place would prevent the acceptance of more than one vote.

“I’m all for keeping drop boxes,” Schramm said.

• Williams said the board has drop box security plans in place that were approved in 2022 and that the board continues to follow state guidance as it is updated.

She said no drop box threats specific to this county have been presented and that no other counties have decided to eliminate their drop boxes in response to statewide and federal alerts.

Williams said the board is always accountable for every vote it takes, including the approval of Election Day polling locations in elderly residential facilities and schools.

She reiterated 17% to 24% of mail ballot voters have used drop boxes since statistics were kept starting with the 2021 general election. Williams believes this largely stems from voters who want the drop box assurance that their mail ballot will be in the hands of the election bureau by the 8 p.m. Election Day deadline.

• Schlosser said the drop boxes provide another option for voters, including the elderly and disabled veterans.

He reiterated he is tired of continued assertions of drop box fraud when he has received no evidence or arrests.

Schlosser said he would be the first one sounding the alarm if warranted because he was a victim of election fraud in 1978 when he ran for state representative.

His reporting of absentee ballot and election fraud back then led to an official federal investigation and charges against numerous individuals, according to past published reports.

“It ended up being one of the biggest vote fraud cases in the history of the United States,” Schlosser said, adding that all claims of election fraud should be reported to law enforcement.

Schlosser said he is in favor of making it easier for people to vote.

Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.