Voting in Kingston Ward 6 has been extended by an hour this evening, until 9 p.m., because the polling place at the Hoyt Library was closed for that long in the afternoon due to a false fire alarm, according to a release from Luzerne County Manager Romilda Crocamo.
The county Election Board and Election Bureau filed a petition with the county Court of Common Pleas seeking permission to extend voting hours solely at that polling location.
The court granted that request, and the order indicates all voters arriving between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. must vote on paper provisional ballots.
Provisional ballots are processed during the board’s post-election adjudication, as opposed to the standard paper ballots cast by scanning them into a tabulator at the polling place.
Ward 6 voting materials were secured and sealed and remained in the custody of poll workers during the library’s evacuation, Crocamo said.
No fire danger was detected, and the Kingston Fire Department cleared the building and determined it was safe to reopen, she said.
The county Election Bureau had worked with the county emergency services department, sheriff’s office and other departments to compile a response plan to “any type of possible scenario that could come about,” county Election Director Emily Cook had said in 2024.
In the November 2023 general election, the Swoyersville Ward 2 polling place on Main Street had to be evacuated shortly before the polls closed, at 7:45 p.m., due to concerns about a potential electrical fire. All voting was completed, and a county team responded to secure the election equipment. Provisional ballots were available outside the polling place in case any voters needed them before 8 p.m.