125379530_web1_125270344-a7b6462978b04762abd797e690ced10f

Lebanon County sues Wolf over withheld funds

125380564_web1_Bloomsburg

LGBTQ groups demand apology from Bloomsburg Fair

Luzerne County&rsquo;s Election Board is sending a letter to state officials suggesting legislative changes that could make mail-in voting more efficient in the November general election.
				The board also voted Wednesday to appoint southern county resident Jeanette Tait to a chairmanship seat on the five-member body that had been vacated by the resignation of Jose Adames.
				According to the draft letter that will be sent to legislators, Gov. Tom Wolf and Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar, the board is recommending the following mail-in voting alterations:
				&#8226; Changing the deadlines for mail-in ballot applications and returns to allow more time for county election bureaus to process and fill requests.
				&#8226; Allowing returned mail-in ballots to be counted earlier, which would speed up the tally of election results and reduce costs and manpower. Confidentiality requirements and penalties would be necessary to prevent any party or person from revealing information before the polls close on Election Day, the board said.
				&#8226; Providing funding for postage-paid ballot return envelopes.
				&ldquo;The current postage requirement, no matter how minimal, constitute a poll tax,&rdquo; the board wrote.
				&#8226; Deploying permanent, dedicated ballot drop-off boxes in prominent places throughout the state &mdash; a practice implemented in some other states.
				&#8226; Permitting mail-in ballots to be returned to polling places during voting hours on Election Day.
				Election board members were extensively involved with the new and popular option to vote by mail without a reason or excuse required &mdash; a change that took effect in the June 2 primary.
				Board member Keith Gould noted he and his colleagues spent more than 60 hours in the days after the election painstakingly reviewing flagged issues and write-in votes on paper ballots.
				Approximately 36,400 county mail-in voters already checked a box on their applications indicating they want to receive a mail-in ballot again for the Nov. 3 general, and the election bureau said additional requests are already coming in.
				In filling the unpaid vacant seat, the board interviewed three applicants during its virtual session Wednesday.
				The board was initially tied, with Gould and Joyce Dombroski-Gebhardt supporting applicant Ronald Knapp and board members Peter Ouellette and Audrey Serniak voting for Tait. Lisa Napersky also had applied.
				After discussing a requirement for the courts to pick someone if a board majority could not reach a consensus, the four unanimously selected Tait.
				During her interview, Tait said she is retired and committed to volunteerism. A registered Democrat, Tait said she would be nonpartisan in the leadership role and bases decisions on the &ldquo;message and messenger&rdquo; &mdash; not party affiliation.

Luzerne County Election Board suggesting mail-in voting improvements