Election Board tackles consultant, ballot box issues

Luzerne County’s Election Board declined to approve an election consultant acting county Manager Romilda Crocamo plans to hire, but it agreed to work with the company.

The board also voted Wednesday to mandate poll worker training starting next year and purchase four postal mail box-style ballot drop boxes that will be placed at yet-to-be-determined locations in the Pittston, Hazleton, Mountain Top and Back Mountain areas for the November general election. A countertop box bolted in place at the county’s Penn Place Building in downtown Wilkes-Barre also will remain in use.

Board members also hired Attorney Joseph M. Cosgrove to provide legal representation in litigation filed by county council and county District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce over the board’s decision to place the DA race on the November general election ballot.

Consultant

Instead of voting to accept or reject the consultant contract, board member Richard Nardone proposed a compromise to commit to cooperate with the consultant as long as the board believes it is improving county election processes.

The three other board members in attendance Wednesday supported his motion: Audrey Serniak, Kathryn Roth and Denise Williams. Missy Thomas, the remaining board member, was absent.

Nardone said he cannot approve the consultant hiring because the board was not involved in the selection process or provided a choice, noting he does not believe “springing this on us” was prudent.

While she expressed regret for not seeking board input sooner, Crocamo has said she does not require county council or board approval for the contract with The Elections Group to assist in the November general because budgeted funds are available to cover the $70,000 expense.

A consultant representative was unable to attend Wednesday’s board meeting as planned due to a scheduling issue.

Crocamo reiterated her rationale for seeking the outside expertise to improve elections, arguing the added help also is needed because the election bureau is “grossly understaffed.”

Williams, the board chair, said she believes the consultant is warranted, particularly to assist the four election board members, bureau director and deputy director who have been through only one county election.

However, Williams said she wants written validation from the Pennsylvania Department of State that it has no problem with use of the consultant. Crocamo said she has been in discussion with a state department attorney to ensure there are no concerns and will request written confirmation.

Williams also wanted assurances election management would be open to working with the consultant, saying resistance would be a waste of the investment.

Both Election Director Bob Morgan and Deputy Election Director Eryn Harvey told Williams they were open to ideas to improve elections.

Training, drop boxes

The mandated poll worker training set to start next year stemmed from concerns that some of the more than 1,000 people who staff polling places on election day are not educated on procedures and responsibilities.

Starting with the 2022 primary, first-time poll workers won’t be permitted to work unless they attend a training, and all poll workers must attend at least one training annually in-person or online if the remote option becomes available, the board said.

The board wanted to explore postal-style boxes because they are too heavy and bulky for a person to steal.

At the board’s request, Morgan had obtained prices from all companies that manufacture that style of drop box. He said there were four.

Nardone asked for his recommendation, and Morgan said his choice would be New Bern, North Carolina-based Printelect because its boxes are 185 pounds and made of steel, with a dual locking chamber. All four attending board members agreed.

“This one to me looks very sturdy,” Morgan said of the Printelect boxes. “This is the closest thing to a mail box you’re going to get.”

Four boxes will cost $8,260 plus $770 for shipping. Morgan said budgeted funds are available to cover the expense.

Morgan said he has assurances they will be delivered by Sept. 30.

In the May primary, the county had provided three counter-top mail ballot drop boxes at the Pittston Memorial Library and Hazleton and Nanticoke city halls in addition to the one in the Penn Place lobby.

Boxes will only be placed inside buildings with security cameras, board members have stressed.

The board also accepted the bureau’s written policy on how the mail ballots will be secured and collected.

Specific building locations for the new boxes will be approved at a later date because the bureau must research which sites are suitable and negotiate agreements, the board said.

DA suit

The board had to obtain outside legal counsel because the county law office can’t get involved when two parties it represents — in this case, council and the board — are on opposite sides in litigation, said county Acting Chief Solicitor Vito DeLuca.

There are conflicting interpretations on what must happen now that Sanguedolce is filling the seat vacated by prior DA Stefanie Salavantis.

An election board majority concluded new state legislation requires the seat to be on the ballot this November. Three board members — Nardone, Serniak and Williams — also voted Wednesday to make the term two years instead of four.

The litigation filed by county council and Sanguedolce argues the race should not be on the ballot until 2023 with an elected term of four years.

Council hired Stevens & Lee to file its litigation. Sanguedolce retained Philadelphia-based Kleinbard LLC and is named as a plaintiff because he is the current office holder.

DeLuca recommended the board retain Cosgrove because Cosgrove researched and wrote a legal opinion that the board considered in its decision to place the race on the ballot in the first place.