Luzerne County Council’s Election Inquiry Committee tentatively wrapped up its list of recommendations Thursday, with plans to meet next week to finalize a report that can be presented to the full council Feb. 9.
One suggestion will be development of a written plan on how mail ballots are secured and counted.
It morphed from a lengthy discussion sparked by Committee Vice Chairman Harry Haas’ question about why teams of county workers stopped counting mail ballots around 10 p.m. the night of the Nov. 3 general election.
County Administrative Services Division Head David Parsnik told the committee these workers had been processing mail ballots since that morning and could not count enough ballots to unofficially call races if they had continued overnight.
The workers also had to return early the next day to resume the count, and keeping them overnight would have led to “burnout” and the potential for mistakes, Parsnik said.
Committee Chairwoman Linda McClosky Houck confirmed with Parsnik that the employees also would have to receive time-and-a-half through the night. Parsnik said additional mail ballot staffing expenses were covered by coronavirus funding that won’t be available in future elections.
Chief Solicitor Romilda Crocamo said Pennsylvania should follow the lead of other states with established mail voting and allow counties to start opening — but not counting — mail ballots before Election Day morning.
“They need to help the foot soldiers on the ground,” Crocamo said.
County Manager C. David Pedri ended up assigning additional county workers to be sworn in to process ballots the day after the election, which allowed the more than 57,000 mail ballots to be counted by around 8 p.m. on Nov. 4.
Haas said he wants to know the total cost for workers to process mail ballots, saying the state should be providing counties with funding to cover the expense in future elections.
Crocamo said some other states with mail voting require counties to submit a plan on the processing of mail ballots for state approval, which would ensure procedures are uniform and clear in advance.
In response, Committee member Stephen J. Urban recommended the county develop its own plan so it is proactive instead of reactive.
Another recommendation involved a suggestion from Haas to make sure the county follows the law regarding the “curing” of ballots.
The state had issued late guidance informing counties to allow notification to voters on Election Day if their mail ballots were missing a secrecy envelope or containing another defect. These voters had the option to “cure” the deficiency by voting at their polling place, but voters did not receive this option if their mail ballots were opened after the polls closed.
Crocamo said a federal court ruling did not declare the curing of ballots as unconstitutional, and there are no other court determinations that provide attorneys with guidance. She again called for clear direction on the matter from the Pennsylvania Department of State or state legislators so “everybody knows the rules before the game begins.”
Haas concurred.
“The higher-ups have to get their act together. They’ve got to straighten this out in Harrisburg,” he said.
Urban said legislators must define the procedures because a lack of clarity opens the door to Department of State interpretation.
The committee, which also includes Councilwoman Sheila Saidman, generally supported Haas’ recommendations related to poll workers: pushing them to attend training, stepping up communication with them and putting more emphasis on filling vacant positions, in part by working with high schools to recruit 18-year-old senior students to assist.
Written back-up plans also are necessary for machine failures and poll workers who fail to appear, Haas said.
Parsnik told the committee some poll workers showed up at 6:45 a.m. on Election Day instead of shortly after 6 a.m. as requested so they could identify set-up issues in a timely manner. As a result, the 13 phone lines to the election bureau were simultaneously overwhelmed at the last minute with poll worker concerns he largely attributed to “user error” as opposed to problems with the machines.
On the issue of communication, McClosky Houck suggested use of a messaging phone app to instantly send alerts and updates to poll workers.
Haas withdrew a recommendation to ensure paper ballots — including those fed into tabulators at polling places — are kept because Parsnik said all ballots, envelopes and other election materials must be stored for two years under state law. These records are secured at the county’s record storage facility in Hanover Township, Parsnik said.
The county also used these records to complete an audit of 2% of the ballots and later 10% of the ballots as required by the state, Parsnik noted.
Haas said he will address some of the issues requiring state decisions through council’s legislative committee, which he chairs.
“If they’re really going to do this, they’ve got to do it right,” he said of the no-excuse mail ballot option the state added last year through bi-partisan legislation.