A proposed resolution asking Luzerne County’s election board to explore additional mail ballot drop boxes prompted mixed opinions during County Council’s work session this week.
Council Chairman Jimmy Sabatino initiated the proposed request, saying he believes more than two drop box sites are warranted. He acknowledged the volunteer, five-citizen election board has the final say and was hopeful enough time remains for the board to consider options before Nov. 3 general election mail ballots are issued.
Four council members — Vice Chairwoman Brittany Stephenson, Joanna Bryn Smith, Patty Krushnowski, and Denise Williams — cited reasons they support the request.
Meanwhile, Council members John Lombardo and Harry Haas opposed the effort.
The matter is expected to be on the council’s Sept. 8 voting agenda.
Stephenson said the resolution is not overstepping the council’s authority by directing the board to add boxes.
Instead, it respectfully asks the board to present findings and recommendations after considering geographic accessibility for voters throughout the county, security and operational feasibility, and the costs associated with establishing and maintaining additional locations, Stephenson said.
“We live in a huge county,” said Stephenson, adding she wants to make voting accessible to as many county residents as possible.
Lombardo said he opposes the request and believes it is a “waste of time” to address the topic because the council does not have a say in the matter. Voters do not need drop boxes because they have access to mailboxes and post offices throughout the county, he said.
Williams pushed back on the mailbox argument, saying many prefer drop boxes because they are assured their ballots will be retrieved and delivered directly to the county election bureau by county staff. With drop boxes, there is no worry ballots will “get lost in the mail” or arrive in the election bureau after the 8 p.m. deadline on Election Day, she said.
A fierce proponent of drop boxes in her past role as election board chair, Williams said she had nothing to do with seeking the current resolution but fully supports it.
During her time on the election board, members listened to and addressed public concerns by implementing protocols that included video surveillance cameras at drop box sites and spot-checks of video footage, she said.
Haas agreed with Lombardo’s stance, saying drop boxes invite more “unnecessary controversy” and increase costs and staff time to retrieve the ballots.
Haas said the argument that drop boxes make voting convenient does not carry weight with him because he believes people sometimes have to “show up and participate” in their government.
“I see this DoorDashing of society. Now we have to DoorDash our votes,” Haas said.
Krushnowski said voters cannot guarantee their ballots will make it to the election bureau by mail. Many elderly people use drop boxes, she noted.
Bryn Smith said she is “extraordinarily in favor” of the resolution and believes drop boxes “will only get better” with new technology.
Access to voting should be expanded, not made more difficult, she said.
“I’d like to be on the right side of history on voting rights,” Bryn Smith said.
The county has two drop box locations inside county-owned properties: the Broad Street Business Exchange Building in Hazleton and the Penn Place Building in Wilkes-Barre. A box is also set up inside the election bureau on the second floor of Penn Place.
Standard mailbox-style drop boxes are used in Hazleton and the county Election Bureau. The Penn Place lobby box captures photographs of both the face of the person at the box and each side of the envelope inserted, along with the date and time the images were captured. Purchased for $12,000 from Runbeck Election Services, the box also has multiple points of internal fire suppression in the event an explosive material is somehow inserted through the opening. The slot itself is fitted to the width of a mail ballot envelope to prevent the insertion of more than one ballot at a time.
County Manager Romilda Crocamo told council she will work with the election board to implement any decision the board makes about drop boxes, including the number and type of boxes and their location. Because the mailbox-style boxes are “antiquated,” the county would have to budget approximately $12,000 for each new box like the one at Penn Place, she said.
“If the board wants additional drop boxes, and they find locations that will take drop boxes, we will deploy them,” Crocamo said.
The election board is not scheduled to meet again until Sept. 16. The deadline to issue general election mail ballots is Oct. 20, although county Election Director Emily Cook has been getting them out before the deadline, when possible, to ensure voters have ample time to receive and return them by regular mail.
Election Board Chairwoman Christine Boyle has said she cannot speculate on the matter at this time.
“If council has something it is going to put officially before the board, the board will then consider if and how to address it,” Boyle has said.