Change in Luzerne County post-election processing proposed

Luzerne County’s Election Board may rely on an election staff “canvassing board” to perform more provisional and mail ballot screening during post-election adjudication.

Permitted by state election law, the canvassing board must adhere to election board procedures and directives on which ballots flagged for defects should be accepted or rejected, according to the proposal.

Under the plan, the election board would appoint three election employees to serve on the canvassing board, and it would conduct its work publicly with legal counsel present in the same manner as the board’s adjudication process.

Election Board member Rick Morelli presented the suggested change to his colleagues at last week’s meeting, saying the volunteer, five-citizen board spends weeks after every election handling processing that can — and in his opinion should — be completed by election staff.

Morelli was on the commission that drafted the county’s home rule charter and said the intent was for the election board to have an auditing and oversight role.

“I’m trying to make things more efficient,” Morelli said. “We have to make some changes here.”

His proposal, drafted with election bureau leadership, said the change would ensure the election board’s impartiality when it issues rulings on candidate challenges over which ballots are accepted and rejected.

“The proposal provides a beneficial separation to allow for proper challenge procedures and gives the Board of Elections and Registration more freedom to assess all aspects of the election process without any inadvertent bias of having its own decisions challenged,” it said.

More opinions

During last week’s meeting, the three other seated election board members — Vice Chairwoman Alyssa Fusaro, Daniel Schramm and Albert Schlosser — said they need time to review the proposal, which was provided to them the day of the meeting.

Fusaro said she had no involvement in the document preparation and cannot weigh in until she examines it at length. She said each task proposed for delegation must be considered.

“I feel strongly that certain decisions need to be continued to be made by the Board of Elections, and this is a move to take this out of the board’s hands,” Fusaro said.

Schramm said he is open to the proposal as long as the election board can perform spot checks or be present if necessary, depending on the task.

He recalled counting hundreds of provisional ballots after the November general election.

“I’m with Rick Morelli. I want to eliminate all this clerical-type work that we’ve been doing. I want to supervise and watch what’s going on,” Schramm said.

In reference to the canvassing board, Schramm said he would not “assume they are right.” The election board can review samples and expand the scope if it determines the canvassing board is making mistakes, he said.

“I’ll look at this with a fine-tooth comb and see what I can find,” Schramm said of the proposal.

Schlosser concurred with Schramm, saying the election board spent three weeks adjudicating ballots after the general election, which should not be necessary.

He said he has confidence in the election bureau.

“Anything we can do to streamline the process and make it more efficient is good,” Schlosser said.

Christine Boyle, who is newly appointed to the election board’s fifth chairmanship seat, also will have a say in the decision.

Morelli said he is requesting the matter be placed on the March 19 meeting agenda for a vote so changes, if approved, can be implemented for the May 20 primary election adjudication.

Fusaro said a work session may be necessary before a vote.