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Luzerne County Election Director Shelby Watchilla has resigned and will leave county employment for a private sector position effective Dec. 25, county Manager C. David Pedri announced Tuesday.
				County Administrative Services Division Head David Parsnik will oversee election bureau operations until a new election executive director is hired, Pedri said.
				The position will be publicly advertised, including on the county website at luzernecounty.org, and filled in compliance with the county personnel policy, Pedri said. As with other election director appointments, Pedri said he also will seek input from the county election board prior to a final appointment.
				In his announcement, Pedri said Watchilla has &ldquo;shown great leadership and dedication&rdquo; overseeing the bureau this past year &ldquo;through two of the most difficult elections in decades.&rdquo;
				Officials have reported an increase in county election directors leaving their positions this year, in part due to extensive new requirements and regulations imposed under bi-partisan state election legislation approved in late 2019. This legislation allowed mail voting without a reason or justification required and changed deadlines for voter registration.
				In addition, the county implemented a new state-required, paper-trail voting system this year.
				All counties had to scramble to make in-person voting as safe as possible during the coronavirus pandemic, including a new on-the-spot, ballot-casting option added in the new state legislation for the Nov. 3 general that brought crowds to the county&rsquo;s Penn Place Building in downtown Wilkes-Barre.
				Pedri said Watchilla immediately faced the mandate for the new machines and election law changes.
				&ldquo;These factors alone would have caused great challenges, but Ms. Watchilla was tasked with completing these elections in the midst of a pandemic in the hotly contested presidential election,&rdquo; Pedri said.
				He said her efforts were &ldquo;acknowledged and applauded&rdquo; by both the county&rsquo;s Democratic and Republican parties and national publications, including Politico, Fox News and the Yale Review.
				Watchilla also was in the limelight for her discovery that nine overseas military mail ballots had been discarded by a temporary worker &mdash; a matter still under investigation. Pedri credited Watchilla for detecting and reporting the problem. The ballots were ultimately counted.
				A council Election Inquiry Committee has been examining election procedures and protocols. Watchilla had said she embraced the review and wanted to work with the committee.
				Contacted Tuesday, Watchilla said Pedri and Parsnik have been &ldquo;phenomenal to work for&rdquo; and said she wished them the best.
				&ldquo;An opportunity presented itself, and I felt it was the right time to pursue it,&rdquo; Watchilla said.
				Watchilla was promoted to the $64,500-a-year county management position a year ago. She had worked for the county since 2014, previously as a human resources business partner.
				Pedri assigned Watchilla to assist in the office oversight in October 2019, following the September resignation of prior director Marisa Crispell. The Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission determined Crispell had violated the state ethics act for recommending the county&rsquo;s purchase of electronic poll books from a company while she served on its advisory board.

Luzerne County election director resigns