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With the primary election three weeks away, Luzerne County’s election bureau is immersed in preparations.

Mail ballots are tentatively scheduled to be sent Friday to more than 19,000 county voters who requested them for the May 17 primary, said county Election Director Michael Susek.

That number may increase because applications are still arriving, Susek said. Voters have until May 10 to submit an application for a mail ballot, although county officials urge voters to request them sooner if possible because that only allows a week for the ballots to be mailed to voters and returned to the county.

Completed mail ballots must be received in the county election bureau by 8 p.m. on Election Day.

Voters can return their ballots by mail or deposit them in one of the county’s five drop boxes inside buildings. Postage is required for mail delivery but not the drop boxes.

The bureau has announced the drop box hours for the primary:

• Hazleton City Hall, 40 N. Church St., Hazleton — Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

• Wright Township Volunteer Fire Dept., 477 S. Main Road, Mountain Top — Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

• Pittston Memorial Library, 47 Broad St., Pittston — Monday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Tuesday and Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

• Misericordia University (Passan Hall), 100 Lake St., Dallas — Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.; weekends, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

• Penn Place, 20 N Pennsylvania Ave, Wilkes-Barre — Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Penn Place, which is county-owned and houses the election bureau, is the only drop box location available on Election Day, and it will be accessible until 8 p.m. that day.

The four other drop boxes will be available the day before the election, or May 16, but will be closed on Election Day.

Disabled voters can complete a form at votespa.com designating a third party to deliver the ballot on their behalf. Otherwise, voters must return only their own ballots under state law.

For in-person voting at the polls, the county started completing required logic and accuracy testing of the voting equipment Monday, officials said.

Mail ballot reminders

Mail voters receive instructions, a ballot, an unmarked white secrecy envelope and an outer envelope that contains the voter’s name and a label with a bar code that, when scanned, identifies that voter in the state’s database.

Election Board Chairwoman Denise Williams reiterated several instructions to ensure mail ballots are counted:

• After filling out their ballot, voters must place it in the secrecy envelope, seal it and then put that envelope inside the one with the label/barcode to be returned to the county.

• Don’t write anything on the outside of the secrecy envelope, especially names or identifying marks.

• Sign and date the outer envelope where indicated.

Ballot races

To help voters prepare, the bureau has posted sample primary ballots through a link on its main page at luzernecounty.org. This link leads to a directory that requires visitors to scroll down to the election tab and click on “2022 sample primary ballots” and then the desired municipality.

In addition to state and federal races, Republicans and Democrats will each vote for state committee members — six on the Democratic side (three males, three females) and seven on the Republican (three males, three females and one either gender).

County Democrats also will select county committee members — one male and one female — in each of the 186 precincts, Susek said. Only 62 county committee candidates filed paperwork to appear on the ballot, which means a lot of selections through write-in votes are expected, he said.

Primary candidate nominations are left to Democrats and Republicans because Pennsylvania has closed primaries, but all voters in Pittston and Wright Township will be permitted to vote on primary ballot questions in Pittston and Wright Township, Susek said.

The four Pittston questions are related to proposed city home rule charter amendments, and the Wright Township question involves a requested real estate tax increase to purchase and maintain fire apparatus.

New legislative boundary lines take effect in the primary.

As a result, voters in Butler Township District 5 are now split into the 8th and 9th Congressional Districts, Susek said.

A list of all county precincts along with their updated Congressional and General Assembly district assignments is posted under the 2022 reapportionment update section of the election bureau page on the county site.

Staffing

The election bureau is now fully staffed, with all eight full-time positions filled, Susek said. In addition, the information technology department has hired a worker who will assist with election matters in addition to other county technology duties, he said.

“I have confidence in the bureau staff. They’re knowledgeable, passionate and experienced,” County Acting Manager Romilda Crocamo said Monday.

As always, the county is seeking citizens willing to serve as poll workers on Election Day, Susek said. Interested applicants should contact the bureau at 570-825-1715 or visit this election link at luzernecounty.org.

The bureau began poll worker training Monday, he said.

Starting with the upcoming primary, first-time poll workers won’t be permitted to work unless they attend a training, and all poll workers must attend at least one training annually.

The election board approved this change last year to ensure those staffing polling places are educated on procedures and responsibilities.

Voter registration

Monday is the last day to register to vote for the May 17 primary. Forms are available on the election page at luzernecounty.org.

Overall, the county currently has 202,060 registered voters, which is a decrease of 378 since the end of October, the latest state statistics show.

There are now 93,846 county Democrats, which is a decrease of 1,353 since October. Republicans picked up 758 voters during the period, bringing that party’s total count to 82,040. Voters with other affiliations or no party grew by 217 since October, for a new total 26,174.

Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.