Luzerne County details spending of first $1.04 million state Election Integrity Grant

Luzerne County has released an accounting of how its first $1.04 million Pennsylvania Election Integrity Grant was spent.

State officials started providing the annual grant last year to help counties cover the rising costs of holding elections. Funding allocations are based on the number of registered voters within each county, according to published reports.

Under this legislation, county election offices seeking and accepting grants must comply with several conditions, including rejecting funding from private outside groups and tallying mail ballots without interruption after the polls close at 8 p.m. on election night, officials said.

June 30 was the county’s deadline to spend the first annual allocation, which covered the November 2022 general election and May 2023 primary, officials said.

The county’s largest single grant-funded expense — $371,565 — was for the Agilis Mail Ballot Sorting System first deployed in the November 2022 general.

Based on the envelope weight, the machine rapidly weeds out unopened mail ballots missing required inner secrecy envelopes or containing more than the one permissible ballot inside, according to public demonstrations.

Housed in the election bureau, the machine has been fulfilling promises to speed up mail ballot processing and reduce staff needed to manually process the envelopes, officials said.

A review of the three-page grant spreadsheet shows the county collectively spent $29,610 on temporary workers through Elwood Staffing from October 2022 through June 7, 2023. Another $35,179 was used for Election Day workers and to reimburse county offices providing staff to assist in both elections, it said.

A total $15,174 was spent on poll worker training, including materials, the report shows.

Among the other grant expenses that would otherwise have to be covered by the county’s general fund operating budget:

• $139,000 to Dominion Voting Systems Inc., the county’s voting system supplier, for Election Day support

• $2,700 to Vector Security to install video surveillance systems at mail ballot drop box sites in Wright Manor in Mountain Top and the county-owned Broad Street Exchange Building in Hazleton

• $149,981 to NPC Inc. to print primary election ballots

• $13,021 to Phillips Supply Co. for tables, chairs and other furniture in the new room used to process ballots and hold post-election adjudication proceedings at the county’s Penn Place Building in Wilkes-Barre

• $22,364 for corrugated voting booths used at polling places in the primary

• $33,254 to Matheson Transfer Co. to move primary election voter equipment

• $203,831 for primary election poll worker payments

• $20,664 to William Penn Printing for primary and general polling place supplies

During a county election board discussion about the administration’s grant report last week, Board Chairwoman Denise Williams asked why the election bureau did not proceed with its plans, as stated in May, to use about $104,600 from the integrity grant for enhanced security at the county’s voting machine warehouse on Water Street in Wilkes-Barre. The bureau had indicated this work would include the addition of security badge building access.

Williams noted the only grant-funded warehouse expense was $1,209 for locks and questioned if the larger project will proceed.

Acting Election Deputy Director Emily Cook said the bureau did not have time to complete the security overhaul before the June 30 grant-spending deadline, but the administration plans to move ahead with the plans later this year when the next annual state grant funding arrives.

Williams asked about current key access to the warehouse, which holds the voting machines.

Cook said the only workers with warehouse keys are election bureau management and the sheriff department. She noted the locks are changed as a precaution whenever a bureau manager leaves.

Board member Alyssa Fusaro said card access to the warehouse makes sense because cards for specific workers can be deactivated to prevent building access as needed, which is more efficient than changing locks.

Cook said the election bureau will provide a comprehensive outline of the work planned at the warehouse in coming months.

County Controller Walter Griffith told the board more advance discussion and planning is needed for future grant spending so the board has an opportunity to weigh in.

Griffith also encouraged officials to seek state clearance to use grant funding to purchase new electronic poll books used for voter sign-in. The county is seeking prices due to battery problems and other issues with the current books in the May primary.

County Manager Romilda Crocamo said the administration already is researching whether electronic poll books are eligible for grant funding.

Although Crocamo started overseeing the county at the tail end of the first grant cycle, on May 25, she promised to publicly identify the next series of proposed grant purchases before they are finalized so the board, public and county council can provide input.

Crocamo also announced that the county’s experienced grant writer, Michele Sparich, is now overseeing management of the Election Integrity Grant instead of bureau staff.