Citizens seeking a 2027 primary election ballot referendum to repeal Luzerne County’s new anti-discrimination ordinance have met the signature requirement to proceed, the group was officially informed Tuesday.
Prior county controller Walter Griffith, who heads the petition committee, was elated that citizens exceeded the daunting signature threshold, making them the first to exercise a county home rule charter power to put ordinance repeals on the ballot for voters to decide.
“This gives the people a voice on the ordinance,” Griffith said. “That was the ultimate goal — to give the people an opportunity to vote on whether they wanted it or didn’t.”
Citizens had to collect and submit at least 11,615 signatures by Aug. 8, which was 60 days after a council majority’s June 9 approval of the ordinance.
The citizens stated they had turned in 15,395, which is 3,780 signatures over the requirement.
Griffith said council Clerk Sharon Lawrence informed him Tuesday she had accepted 13,506 signatures, which he said brings the total to 15,405 when the initial batch of 1,899 is factored in.
Lawrence’s acceptance of the signatures triggers a 10-day signature challenge period. The county election board has determined it will only adjudicate challenges if the number of contested signatures could bring the petition below the required 11,615-signature threshold. The election board’s decision can be appealed to the county court.
County Council would then have a 30-day window to decide if it wants to repeal the anti-discrimination ordinance.
If council does not repeal it on its own, the county election board must place the referendum on the ballot of the next election that falls at least 13 Tuesdays from then, which would be the 2027 primary election.
A referendum stops the ordinance from taking effect unless a majority of voters cast ballots against repeal.
Lawrence’s official confirmation said she has examined the petitions and determined “that the same are sufficient to permit this matter to move forward to the next feasible election for consideration by the electorate.”
It said she would forward her confirmation to the council so it could prepare for reconsideration, as required by the charter.
The anti-discrimination ordinance requires local adjudication of complaints that extend beyond county government and involve employment, housing, healthcare, education, and establishments that sell goods or services to the general public.
Supporters said the ordinance will protect classes not already covered in state and federal laws and speed up processing of complaints due to a state backlog. Critics argued the county should not get involved in such matters and raised concerns about potential liability, litigation, and added expenses.
Approximately 200 people circulated petitions under the coordination of a dozen or so team leaders, said Griffith and Alyssa Fusaro, a Luzerne resident. Griffith said no circulators were paid to collect signatures. Thirteen signatures of voters in this county were collected by two Lackawanna County residents, and the remaining petition circulators reside in this county, organizers said.
Council Chairman Jimmy Sabatino has said he does not believe a council majority will vote to repeal the ordinance.
He also expected to halt plans to approve a citizen commission to enforce the new ordinance, saying he is “not going to use precious time we have before the budget season talking about a commission for an ordinance that we can’t enact.”