All three Luzerne County officials declining invitation to hearing on election paper shortage

All three Luzerne County officials said Monday they are declining invitations to attend The Committee on House Administration’s upcoming hearing focused on the county’s November general election paper shortage — county Deputy Election Director Beth Gilbert, Election Board Chairwoman Denise Williams and County Council Chairwoman Kendra Radle.

That would leave only three invitees — two state and one federal — to participate in the Congressional hearing called “Government Voter Suppression in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania” set for March 28 in Washington, D.C. to examine “how a severe shortage of available Election Day ballots provided by Luzerne County effectively closed polling locations and prevented thousands of Pennsylvanians from exercising their right to vote in the 2022 midterm election.”

Gilbert, who served as acting election director during the November general, released this written response she will present to the committee:

“The Luzerne County Bureau of Elections is trusted with the duty to uphold the sanctity of elections for the voters of Luzerne County. When I accepted my position within the bureau, it was my goal to serve the voters of Luzerne County with principle, honesty, and transparency. My sight of that goal has not wavered. I have and will continue to encourage inquiries into the issues that plagued the bureau surrounding the November 2022 General Election.

Nevertheless, it would be deeply inappropriate to engage in an open forum before District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce’s active investigation is completed and less than 60 days before a municipal election. If this request is entertained, political posturing and unnecessary distractions will undoubtedly lead to erroneous faults in the upcoming election. This is not in the best interest of the voters of whom I serve in Luzerne County. I would be more than happy to comply with any requests for testimony after the upcoming election.”

Williams said she asked the election board solicitor for guidance and was informed the county law office is not recommending attendance because the DA’s Office investigation into the paper problem is still pending.

While the law office offered to assist if Williams wants to provide written testimony, Williams said she would not be comfortable presenting anything without the option to speak in case there are questions or something is taken out of context.

Williams also said the invitation did not provide an option to submit only a written statement. The invitation requested both a written and oral presentation along with a bio and form attesting all information presented is truthful, she said.

“If the law office recommends not being there, I’m not comfortable presenting,” Williams said.

Radle also cited the pending DA investigation and said she won’t be submitting any written report. In addition, Radle said county council members have no direct involvement in election oversight because the county manager is ultimately responsible for selecting staff to run elections.

“As council members, we are really two or three degrees separated from really being involved,” Radle said.

The Committee on House Administration also invited three others to testify: Jonathan Marks, Deputy Secretary of State for Elections and Commissions; Don Palmer, Commissioner of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission; and someone handling duties of the vacant position directing the state’s Bureau of Election Security and Testing.

The Department of State media office was working on a response Monday evening regarding the two state invitations.

County statement

County Acting Manager Brian Swetz issued a response Monday, saying he was only made aware of the inquiry hearing through the media late Saturday night.

“While it is understandable that the Committee on House Administration wants to hold a hearing on our mishap, it would be preferable if the hearing were conducted after the Luzerne County District Attorney’s report has been finalized,” Swetz said.

He also said it is up to invitees to determine if they want to participate, but he believes the best choice would be informal participation through a written reply.

Swetz said he does not believe it is in the county’s best interest, with a primary election around the corner, to have the election board chair and prior acting election director travel to Washington, D.C. to testify about the 2022 general election.

“I would prefer that the invitees provide written testimony and if necessary, testify in-person after the completion of the May 16, 2023 municipal primary election,” he said.

In his Monday statement, Swetz took issue with the hearing title and description.

“The comments regarding government voter suppression and Luzerne doing the worst job of any county in the country do not help an already weak application pool in terms of the number of applications. The director of elections was a very difficult position to fill without this negative public feedback,” Swetz said, referring to the recent hiring of Eryn Harvey to oversee the county election bureau.

Swetz said his statement is not intended to “sweep the embarrassing and unfortunate events of Nov. 8, 2022 under the rug.”

“To the contrary, the errors of the Nov. 8, 2022, election need to be scrutinized. To that end, the District Attorney is engaged in a through investigation into the 2022 general election. Luzerne County administration has a duty to the public to be accountable,” Swetz said.

He quoted legendary college football coach Bear Bryant, saying, “When you make a mistake, there are only three things you should ever do about it: admit it, learn from it, and don’t repeat it.”

”It is with that spirit that Luzerne County is conducting a municipal primary election using paper and scanners,” he said.

Swetz said having all voters use the same paper format “would seem to mitigate the chance of the same difficulties occurring again.”

Earlier this month, a county Election Board majority voted to support the election bureau’s plan to use paper ballots instead of electronic ballot marking devices at polling places in the primary.

With the electronic ballot marking devices, voters pick their candidates on a computer screen and then print out the resulting ballot, which they must review and feed into the tabulator/scanner.

Under the paper plan, voters will mark their candidate choices and hand-write any write-in selections and then feed their paper ballot into the tabulator/scanner for the vote to be cast.

Some have argued the county should continue using electronic ballot marking devices, which county council had agreed to purchase from Dominion Voting Systems Inc. for $3.6 million at the end of 2019 to comply with a state requirement to maintain a ballot paper trail.

“I also realize that not all residents are in favor of the upcoming change to paper and this would be my response, Swetz said, citing the definition of insanity as doing the same thing repeatedly while expecting different results. “I am here in this form of government to make decisions, and I will continue to do so as county manager even in an ‘acting’ capacity.”

County DA Sanguedolce has said his office is thoroughly investigating the Nov. 8 election paper problem, which caused widespread issues at polling places. The DA said every detective in his office is involved in some capacity, and they were speaking to hundreds of witnesses.

The Congressional hearing is set for 10:30 a.m. March 28 in the Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C.