With the Nov. 3 general election a week away, Luzerne County is adding several evening mail ballot drop box hours for voters, county Manager Romilda Crocamo announced during Tuesday’s County Council meeting.
Mail ballots must be physically in the election bureau by 8 p.m. on Election Day; postmarks don’t count.
The county has drop boxes inside two buildings: the county-owned Penn Place Building at 20 N. Pennsylvania Ave. in Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton City Hall, 40 N. Church St. in the city.
The revised schedule with expanded hours:
• Penn Place lobby: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday; 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Friday, Monday, and Election Day.
• Hazleton City Hall: 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday; 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Friday, and Monday. This box is not available on Election Day.
A box is also set up inside the election bureau on the second floor of Penn Place and will be available the same hours as the lobby one.
County Election Director Emily Cook said Tuesday evening that the county has issued mail ballots to 32,176 voters, and approximately 22,104 have been returned to date.
“These extended hours give working residents and families a real opportunity to return their ballots in person, securely, and on their own schedule,” Crocamo said during Tuesday’s meeting. “Every eligible voter deserves a fair and convenient way to make their voice heard, and we are committed to providing it.”
She thanked Hazleton Mayor Jeff Cusat for opening Hazleton City Hall later, saying he didn’t hesitate when asked and that his cooperation directly serves southern county voters. Crocamo also commended the county sheriff’s office for securely retrieving ballots from the Hazleton box and the election bureau for its “hard work and dedication during this demanding season.”
In other praise, Councilwoman Joanna Bryn Smith thanked Crocamo for expanding hours and Wilkes-Barre Mayor George C. Brown for providing free parking spaces for Penn Place drop box users.
Tax break ordinance
County Council members applauded Tuesday after unanimously approving a new real estate tax-break ordinance that sets reporting requirements and procedures for future tax-break requests.
The ordinance standardizes and expands information developers must submit to be considered for a break and mandates annual reports on job creation and other economic impacts for officials and the public to evaluate a tax abatement’s worthiness.
Councilwoman Denise Williams suggested an amendment requiring property owners receiving breaks to have an authorized payroll officer sign submitted annual employment information to verify the data’s accuracy. That provision was not included because the administration said the ordinance, as written, allows such verification and other suggested guidelines to be added as needed in standard operating procedures.
Williams thanked council Chairman Jimmy Sabatino for his work bringing the ordinance to fruition.