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Voting will be different for Luzerne County voters in Tuesday&rsquo;s primary due to the coronavirus pandemic.
				Before heading to the polls, residents should check if their voting location has changed.
				The number of voting sites was temporarily reduced from 144 to 58 to alleviate concerns about proper social distancing and pandemic-related shortages of poll worker and polling places.
				A chart of old and new voting sites is available through the large presidential election 2020 link on the main page at <a href="https://www.luzernecounty.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.luzernecounty.org</a> and also appears elsewhere in today&rsquo;s edition of the Times Leader.
				Upon arrival, voters without masks will be politely asked to wear a face covering for the protection of others. Some masks will be on hand at polling places if needed. Voters refusing the request will still be permitted to vote, although poll workers will attempt to direct them to the most remote spot inside the voting area, officials said.
				Voters also will be expected to adhere to social distancing guidelines as much as possible inside polling places and outside if there are lines to get in. Reminder signs will be posted.
				Each voter will receive a take-home stylus to sign in on an electronic poll book.
				Gloved election workers will provide non-disabled voters with a pen, also take-home, and a privacy folder containing a paper ballot that will be used to make selections instead of an electronic machine. Three-sided, tabletop privacy screens will be set up for voters to fill in their paper ballots.
				When completed, voters must insert their ballots into a scanner to be tabulated and stored.
				Voters with vision impairments or other disabilities preventing them from filling out the paper ballots will have access to new touchscreen electronic ballot marking devices. Election workers cannot ask voters if they have a disability, so anyone asking to use the machines will be assumed to have a disability and granted permission, county officials said.
				Disabled voters using the ballot marking device also will receive a printed paper ballot containing their selections that they must then feed into the scanner/tabulator to lock in their vote.
				This is the first election the county will be using the new ballot marking devices purchased from Dominion Voting Systems Inc., although non-disabled voters will have to wait until the November general election to cast their ballots using them.
				The county has posted a link to YouTube videos from Dominion showing how to vote on the new devices and feed ballots into the tabulator, accessible at the <a href="https://www.luzernecounty.org/1283/2020-Primary-Election" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.luzernecounty.org</a> through the 2020 presidential primary tab.
				Ballot marking devices will be sanitized between uses, officials said.
				Mail-in voters
				For voters casting their ballots by mail, the completed ballots must be physically returned to the county election bureau by 8 p.m. on Election Day, and postmarks do not count.
				Approximately 53,440 county Democrats and Republicans requested mail-in ballots by the May 26 deadline.
				Voters with concerns about their mail-in ballot should contact the election office at 570-825-1715 or elections@luzernecounty.org.
				Three drop-off options are available to ensure the election bureau receives the ballots on time.
				On Monday, voters can take their ballots to the counter at the Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton post offices, where they will be segregated and picked up several times daily by a county courier or deputy sheriff.
				Located at 300 S. Main St., the Wilkes-Barre Post Office is open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Hazleton Post Office at 231 N. Wyoming St. is open from 7:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.
				The third drop-off option is the election office on the second floor of the county-owned Penn Place building at 20 N. Pennsylvania Ave. in Wilkes-Barre, with free designated parking spots available on Pennsylvania Avenue.
				Ballots may be turned in at the election office from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday and from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day. The Penn Place election office is the only drop-off location option for ballots on Election Day.
				If voters received a mail-in ballot but did not send it in or drop it off, they can cast a provisional ballot in person at their polling place.
				The sign-in books at polling places will tell election workers which voters received mail-in ballots, warranting voting by provisional. Provisional ballots are counted last, and the election database would show if the county already received a mail-in ballot, preventing the provisional one from being tabulated.
				Election basics
				Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
				The <a href="https://www.luzernecounty.org/DocumentCenter/View/20842/2020-PROCLAMATION" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">2020 primary election proclamation</a> posted on the county site lists all contests and contenders on both the Republican and Democratic ballots. Because the county is carved up in different state and federal legislative districts, the proclamation lists which county municipalities will vote in each race.
				Voters interested in a customized view of the races and candidates in their party and precinct can click on the<a href="https://www.luzernecounty.org/1237/Sample-Ballots" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> &ldquo;sample ballots&rdquo; link</a> on the county site.
				One of the most hotly contested races is for the Republican nomination for representative in the 8th Congressional District, which covers portions of Luzerne, Lackawanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe counties.
				Six Republicans are running: Lackawanna County resident Earl Granville and Luzerne County residents Jim Bognet, Mike Cammisa, Teddy Daniels, Harry Haas and Mike Marsicano. Incumbent Matt Cartwright, of Lackawanna County, is running unopposed for the Democratic nomination.
				In the 9th Congressional District representative race, incumbent Dan Meuser, of Luzerne County, is unopposed on the Republican side. Two candidates &mdash; Lebanon County resident Laura Quick and Berks County resident Gary Wegman &mdash; are seeking the Democratic nomination to run against Meuser in the November general.
				Six state representative seats also are up for grabs, although no contenders have primary election opponents in their party listed on the ballot, the proclamation says.
				County voters also will choose delegates to attend their party&rsquo;s national convention. County Republicans will vote on party committee members.
				Some other updates:
				&#8226; A total 185,197 county voters are eligible to cast ballots on June 2 &mdash; 104,959 Democrats and 80,238 Republicans. Only voters in these two parties can vote on June 2 because Pennsylvania has closed primaries.
				&#8226; Turnout was 41% in the last presidential primary four years ago.
				&#8226; County officials have said they do not expect final unofficial results to be released on election night and possibly not for days largely due to the need to scan in a large number of mail-in ballots.
				State legislators authorized mail-in voting last year, eliminating the need to provide any reason or &ldquo;excuse,&rdquo; starting with the 2020 primary. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, officials here and statewide have been promoting it as a safe option for voters who don&rsquo;t want to cast their ballots in person.
				&#8226; Election workers will tabulate the mail-in ballots at Penn Place. Observation is open to a representative of each political party and candidates or their representatives.
				&#8226; As usual, the county will post result updates in each race at www.luzernecounty.org on election night.
				A gallery for the public to view results also will be set up on the second floor of the Penn Place building on election night.

What Luzerne County voters need to know about casting ballots in Tuesday’s primary