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Federal investigators won&rsquo;t be filing criminal charges in a Luzerne County temporary election worker&rsquo;s discarding of nine overseas military ballots for the Nov. 3 general election, Acting U.S. Attorney Bruce D. Brandler in the state&rsquo;s Middle District announced Friday.
				&ldquo;After a thorough investigation conducted by the FBI and prosecutors from my office, we have determined that there is insufficient evidence to prove criminal intent on the part of the person who discarded the ballots,&rdquo; Brandler said in a release, adding that the matter is now closed.
				The county District Attorney&rsquo;s Office had requested the federal investigation, which revealed that the nine military ballots had been discarded by a former worker in September and were subsequently retrieved from a dumpster.
				Brandler thanked the FBI for &ldquo;devoting the necessary resources to conduct a thorough and complete investigation.&rdquo; He also credited the county election bureau staff and other county officials for cooperating with investigators and prosecutors.
				All nine ballots were ultimately tallied in the general election results. The seasonal election worker had been employed for three days and was immediately terminated after prior election director Shelby Watchilla discovered and reported the matter.
				In a release issued shortly after Friday&rsquo;s announcement that the case was closed, county Manager C. David Pedri said county residents &ldquo;owe a debt of gratitude&rdquo; to the Department of Justice for its extensive review and investigation that &ldquo;left no stone unturned.&rdquo;
				&ldquo;I am pleased that U.S. Attorney Brandler and the Department of Justice reviewed all the facts in this matter and not just conjecture or rumor,&rdquo; Pedri wrote. &ldquo;As a former prosecutor myself, I understand and respect the hard work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the US Attorney&rsquo;s Office and all law enforcement who work incredibly hard for all of us each day.&rdquo;
				The ballot discarding had made national news, largely because the U.S. Attorney&rsquo;s Office publicly announced at least seven of the votes were for President Donald Trump, prompting Trump to reference the matter.
				The incident was a main reason council formed an Election Inquiry Committee to review and recommend improvements in election protocols and procedures.
				During Thursday&rsquo;s inquiry committee meeting, county Councilman Stephen J. Urban asked Chief Solicitor Romilda Crocamo if the federal investigation was still ongoing.
				Crocamo said she had not received any notification but would request an update.
				Dawn L. Clark, public affairs officer for the U.S. Attorney&rsquo;s Office in Harrisburg, told a Times Leader reporter earlier this week she was unable to respond yet on questions about the status of the investigation and whether an announcement would be made if the investigation is closed without charges filed.
				An article has been circulated online in recent days about the U.S. Attorney&rsquo;s Office informing the county the investigation was still active, but that article had been written last fall. Clark confirmed there have been no recent announcements from her office about the investigation.

Feds won’t be filing criminal charges in Luzerne County discarded ballot incident, case closed