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If Luzerne County Manager C. David Pedri’s 70% turnout prediction holds true, nearly 155,000 county voters will be casting ballots in Tuesday’s general election.

That would make this “one of the biggest elections in Luzerne County history,” he said.

“I think that the presidential election has caused every single person to do their part, and that’s a great thing,” Pedri said. “Every person you talk to, all they’re talking about is this election.”

County Election Board Solicitor Michael Butera already has gone on record expecting a similar 69% turnout for the county, which now has a total 220,965 residents registered to vote.

Peter Ouellette, the election board vice chairman, said his turnout projection also is in that range.

“I’d be delighted if it is more than 70%, but that is still a very high percentage,” Ouellette said.

The county’s past presidential election turnout percentages and votes cast, with a reminder that the total people registered differed each time: 2016, 67% (137,549 ballots cast); 2012, 65% (126,326 ballots cast); and 2008, 73.5% (138,076 ballots cast).

What’s different this time around is that more voters will be casting their ballots by paper due to the popularity of no-excuse-required advance ballots delivered by mail or dropped off.

Only 7,511 voters cast ballots by mail in the 2016 presidential general, when the state required justification, such as a health condition or travel.

As of Friday night, approximately 50,000 of the nearly 71,600 county voters who were issued mail ballots had completed and returned them.

Voting at the polls

The county’s 129 polling locations will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day.

A list of polling locations is posted on the election page at <a href="https://www.luzernecounty.org/1085/Find-Your-Polling-Place" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">luzernecounty.org</a> along with a link for voters unsure of the precinct needed to identify their polling place.

Voters also may call 570-825-1715 or email elections@luzernecounty.org for questions about polling locations or any other election matters.

Personal protective equipment — masks, gloves and hand sanitizer — will be available at all polling places. Voters also will receive a take-home stylus that can be used on the poll books at sign-in and on the ballot marking devices.

Voters will be asked to wear masks but won’t be barred from voting if they refuse.

First-time voters should bring proper identification materials. A list of identification options is posted under voter registration link at <a href="https://www.votespa.com/Pages/default.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">votespa.com</a>.

On the new touchscreen machines, voters will make selections as they did with the old devices. But instead of touching a screen box to lock in their votes, they will receive a paper printout to verify their selections before they feed the paper into a tabulator to be read and saved in compliance with a state paper-trail mandate.

Voters must check the paper ballot for accuracy and should notify a poll worker if there are any mistakes in their choices. If warranted, the poll worker would void the ballot and allow that voter to mark a new one.

Pedri asked voters to point out any concerns before they cast their ballots or leave their polling places so they can be addressed on-the-spot.

Waits are not expected to be as lengthy as they were four years ago because so many voters used mail ballots, but there will be lines, officials said.

“Make a plan. Understand that if you go to the polls, you won’t be able to park your car, vote, get a sandwich and go back to work all on your lunch hour. It may take time,” Pedri said.

Mail voters

Completed ballots not already in the mail should be dropped off at a box inside the county’s Penn Place Building lobby at 20 N. Pennsylvania Ave. in Wilkes-Barre, which will be open from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. on both Monday and Election Day.

Ballots must be dropped off by 8 p.m. on Tuesday.

Disabled voters can designate a third party to deliver the ballot on their behalf by completing a form at <a href="https://www.votespa.com/Resources/Documents/Authorize-Designated-Agent-for-Mail-in-or-Absentee-Ballot.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">votespa.com</a>.

Voters who received but did not return mail ballots can vote on the electronic ballot marking devices at the polls on Election Day if they bring in their never-returned, mail-in ballot, secrecy envelope and outer mailing envelope to be voided.

Those who don’t have all three items or requested but never received a ballot have the option to cast a hand-marked paper provisional ballot at the polls, officials said. Provisional ballots are marked by hand and reviewed last so the county can verify a mail ballot was not also received from that voter.

Provisional instructions

Attention to detail is necessary to ensure provisional ballots are counted, Ouellette said.

As with mail ballots, provisional voters also will receive a secrecy and outer envelope. Once completed, the provisional ballot must be placed inside the secrecy envelope, which is then inserted in the outer envelope.

The next step is equally important, he said.

Provisional voters must present the completed in-envelopes ballot to the judge of elections for three signatures.

The voter must sign an attestation on the outer envelope before the judge of elections certifying that it is their ballot. The judge of elections then signs, and the voter must again sign a second time.

“All three signatures have to be present for us to count that ballot. If any one of those is missing, we cannot count it by state law,” Ouellette said.

This requirement was also reinforced in training for judges of election, county officials said.

Provisional ballots also are an option for voters who encounter issues with their registration that must be further reviewed to determine if their vote can be counted, he said.

Voters will not receive a provisional ballot at the polls if the county already recorded receipt of a cast mail ballot from them, Ouellette said.

Ouellette said he is raising this distinction because some voters have inquired about whether they can cast a fresh ballot. There are no do-overs, he said.

“Once that mail ballot is recorded as received and processed, they’re done,” he said.

Voters can check whether their mail ballot has been received on the ballot tracker at <a href="https://www.votespa.com/Voting-in-PA/Pages/Mail-and-Absentee-Ballot.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">votespa.com</a>.

The count

Counties can start unsealing mail ballot envelopes and scanning the ballots, known as pre-canvassing, at 7 a.m. on Election Day. However, counties cannot start to record and publish the counts until the polls close at 8 p.m.

Six four-person teams handling this task will assemble inside a third-floor courtroom at Penn Place at 7 a.m. and start the pre-canvassing at 8 a.m. after they are sworn in, said county Administrative Services Division Head David Parsnik.

The processing will be faster than it was in the June 2 primary because the county is using a new automated envelope opener on both the outer envelopes and then the secrecy envelopes after they are placed in separate piles so they can’t be associated with specific voters, said county Election Director Shelby Watchilla.

The machine will open 30,000 to 40,000 envelopes per hour, Watchilla said.

Pre-canvassing that occurs before 8 p.m. is not open to the general public or media, according to county Chief Solicitor Romilda Crocamo. In accordance with state law, the county will allow a representative of each political party and one authorized representative of each candidate to remain in the room for pre-canvassing.

Those same observers will be permitted to attend the canvassing after 8 p.m. along with the media, she said.

Security

Constables and county sheriff deputies will provide security at polling places, with assistance from state police and other law enforcement entities if issues arise, county officials said.

“I’m confident that we will have a safe and secure election thanks to their hard work,” Pedri said.

State officials have stressed voter intimidation and discriminatory conduct are illegal under both state and federal law.

Suspected violations should be reported immediately to the county election bureau or district attorney, the state said. Reports also can be made to the Pennsylvania Department of State at 1-877-VOTESPA (1-877-868-3772).

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