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A decision on Luzerne County’s new voting system may be delayed until late November.
Citizen Mark Rabo asked Luzerne County Council last week to consider waiting until after the Nov. general election to see how other counties fared with their new voting systems.
Council Chairman Tim McGinley said he believes the idea to hold off and monitor the experiences of other counties is worth consideration and plans to discuss it with his council colleagues.
Three vendors — Dominion Voting Systems, Election Systems and Software (ES&S) and Hart InterCivic — submitted proposals to provide a paper-trail system here. Counties must pick a system by the end of the year and start using it by the April 2020 primary under a state mandate requiring paper ballots or receipts that can be checked by voters and kept in case tallies are questioned.
According to an Oct. 1 state report, 31 counties are scheduled to start using one of these three systems Nov. 5, with each vendor grouping including at least one similarly-sized, third-class county like Luzerne. Seven counties already have used the ES&S and Dominion systems in this year’s May primary, it said.
Phone comparison
County Election Board member Peter Ouellette used cell phones to illustrate why a new voting system with updated technology is needed, independent of the state’s requirement for a paper trail.
The county started using the current electronic voting machines in the November 2006 general, which means they will be 13 years old when they are used Nov. 5.
Ouellette expressed doubt that many are still using the cell phones they had 13 years ago. He said his wife really liked her old phone but can’t use it anymore because transmission technology is different.
He referred to calibration issues in recent elections, when there were complaints the touch-sensitive screens were not properly lined up with the underlying ballots, ensuring the intended choices lit up.
“The sensitivity of the screens is declining. This is a problem with aging equipment,” Ouellette said.
Holiday
County government offices are closed Monday for Columbus Day.
DA position changes
County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis has responded to a question about union clearance for an office reorganization.
Salavantis eliminated six unionized assistant district attorney positions — five full-time and one part-time — in exchange for five new nonunion division chief positions overseeing driving under the influence, special victims, narcotics, juveniles and major crimes.
The shuffling saves the county $8,500, and no assistant district attorneys were furloughed because one of the six eliminated positions was vacant and five were selected for advancement to the new positions, she has said.
Unionized assistant district attorneys/public defenders are represented by Teamsters Local 401. Before implementing the reorganization, Salavantis has said she made the union aware of the plans to switch the positions to nonunion ones due to the additional responsibilities and supervisory duties.
But Citizen Walter Griffith raised the issue at last week’s council meeting, saying a Teamsters representative told him the union was unaware of the reorganization. A Teamsters representative could not be reached for comment.
Several council members publicly said they want clarification from the district attorney, and Salavantis sent an email to council Oct. 8 in response to Councilwoman Linda McClosky Houck’s inquiry about the matter.
“I do not know who is circulating false information regarding the union not being notified of this change in my office,” Salavantis wrote.
She said she has evidence Teamsters was notified as early as July 30, which was before she posted the positions. County administration also contacted the shop steward, and another discussion took place more than six weeks ago, Salavantis wrote.
“Further, as you know, Section 1620 of the County Code provides the district attorney with exclusive hiring and supervising rights for this office, as outlined in the contract,” Salavantis added.