Luzerne County Nov. 3 general election ballots are expected to be mailed next week to approximately 25,525 voters who requested them, county Election Director Emily Cook said Thursday.
The deadline to issue general election mail ballots is Oct. 20, but Cook has been getting them out sooner, when possible, to ensure voters have ample time to receive, complete, and return them by 8 p.m. on Election Day. The ballots must be physically in the bureau by that deadline because postmarks do not count.
The mail ballot drop box schedule has been posted on the election page at luzernecounty.org.
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.
Cook noted the Penn Place lobby drop box will be available for more hours to accommodate voters.
However, hours have been reduced at the Hazleton location because the county Election Board, at a County Council majority’s request, relocated the box from the county’s Broad Street Business Exchange property to Hazleton City Hall, believing a box there would be easier for voters to find.
The schedule for the Nov. 3 general:
• Penn Place lobby: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursdays.
This box closes at 8 p.m. on Election Day.
• Hazleton City Hall: 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays.
This box closes at 4 p.m. the day before the election, Nov. 2.
A box is also set up inside the election bureau on the second floor of Penn Place. That box is available from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays and until 8 p.m. on Election Day.
Ballot directions
Mail voters receive instructions, a ballot, a yellow secrecy envelope, and a white outer return envelope that contains the voter’s name and a label with a bar code that, when scanned, identifies that voter in the state’s database. The yellow secrecy envelope says, “official election ballot.”
After filling out their ballot, voters must place it in the yellow envelope, seal it, and then put that envelope inside the envelope with the label/bar code for return to the county.
Voters are also directed to sign and date the outer envelope where indicated. The date refers to when the ballot was filled out, not a birth date.
Mail ballot voters also should not:
• Write anything on the outside of the secrecy envelope, especially names or identifying marks.
• Select more than the specified number of candidates.
• Staple or place stickers on the ballot or inner/outer envelopes, particularly over the bar code.
Selection boxes on the ballots should be fully shaded and not marked with an X, a slash, or by circling. The county prefers black ink, although blue is allowable, the bureau said.
Under state law, voters are only permitted to mail or hand-deliver their own ballot unless they are serving as a designated agent for someone with a disability.
Disabled voters must fill out an official form authorizing someone to deliver their ballot for them. A copy of this designated agent form is posted at pa.gov.
Voters should make a copy or photograph the completed form and give the original form to their designated agent to carry when the mail ballot is returned, in case the agent is questioned. The state has stressed that this form should not be inserted in the yellow secrecy envelope.
Applications requesting mail ballots must be received by the county election office by 5 p.m. on Oct. 27. However, officials urge those interested to act sooner to ensure they receive them on time because that date is only one week before the election.
Those with questions about mail ballots or any election matter can contact the bureau at 570-825-1715 or by emailing elections@luzernecounty.org.
Voters can view the contests and any referendums that will appear on their ballot in advance by visiting the ballot samples section of the election page at luzernecounty.org.
In another reminder, Oct. 19 is the deadline to register to vote in the general election. Application information is posted on the county election page.