Luzerne County plans to allow April 23 primary election mail ballot voters a chance to correct issues that could prevent their vote from being counted, officials stated at the county election board meeting this week.
About 20,000 voters have asked for mail ballots so far, and they should be sent out in the first week of April.
The election bureau's ballot sorting machine will catch problems before Election Day, such as missing voter signatures or date problems on outer envelopes, and the absence of the required inner secrecy envelope, known as a “naked ballot.”
Following state guidance, the election bureau will cancel such flagged ballots in the state tracking system and inform affected voters if they provided an email address on their mail ballot application, said county acting election director Emily Cook.
Voters can also check the status of their mail ballot, including whether it is canceled due to issues, using the online tracker at pavoterservices.pa.gov, Cook mentioned, stressing that voters can also use this site to confirm their voter registration is in good standing.
Those who receive alerts about voided deficient ballots will have the option to appear at the election bureau to submit a new ballot or fill out a paper provisional ballot at their polling place on Election Day. Provisional ballots are checked last by the board to ensure no one is voting twice.
On Election Day, a different process will be followed as mail ballots will be opened and processed during the pre-canvassing stage.
County Election Board members, one Democrat and one Republican together, will make lists of voters with identified ballot defects, including secrecy envelopes with identifiable marks. New Election Day arrivals of mail ballots with outer envelope defects and missing secrecy envelopes will also be added to the list.
These lists are then given to party leaders around noon and 3 p.m. so they can try to reach out to the voters and explain their option to cast a provisional ballot at the polls before 8 p.m.
The election board has previously voted before each election on whether to make these lists, known as “curing.”
At Wednesday’s board meeting, four of five board members voted in favor of curing — Rick Morelli, Albert Schlosser, Daniel Schramm and Chairwoman Denise Williams.
Vice Chairwoman Alyssa Fusaro opposed, stating she has always been against the act of curing.
Fusaro believes that voters should only have one chance to submit a ballot.
She feels that if someone chooses to vote by mail, they should make sure to do it correctly without needing assistance. She does not think the board should spend time fixing mistakes that disqualify a ballot.
However, Williams strongly disagrees and mentioned that voters at the polls can ask for help and receive assistance. Voters at the polls can also ask to void their ballot marking device printout if they see an error, to make new selections before confirming their vote.
Compiling a list to fix mistakes doesn't take much time, according to the board member. Williams thinks the instructions for mail-in voting are long and wants to make sure everyone's vote counts.
Schlosser agrees with Williams, he said.
“I don’t want to leave anyone out if they make an honest mistake. You’re dealing with older people and people with disabilities. Give them a chance at it. It doesn’t matter what party they’re from. People make honest mistakes. I can understand that.”
Schramm mentioned that he votes by mail and was once contacted by the bureau because he missed the date.
“I know what it’s like to be old and missing things,” he said.
He said the first list takes a little over an hour for the board to compile, while the second takes 15 to 20 minutes.
Fusaro pointed out that voters at the polls must complete their ballot on the spot, while mail voters have more time to make their selections and verify everything is in order.
