Luzerne County Election Board members monitoring discarded ballot findings

Joyce Dombroski-Gebhardt said she and fellow Luzerne County Election Board member Keith Gould visited the county election bureau Friday morning to find out “what’s going on.”

“None of us on the board had a clue about this,” Dombroski-Gebhardt said of a county-federal investigation that unfolded this week and led to an announcement that nine mail-in military ballots had been prematurely opened and discarded.

The two board members talked to staff and made inquiries, Dombroski-Gebhardt said.

“I am not downplaying this — period,” Dombroski-Gebhardt said. “I want a complete investigation done and new procedures in place immediately.”

She also believes the National Guard should be stationed at the bureau for monitoring before and during the Nov. 3 election.

“If someone believes I’m being extreme, I don’t care,” Dombroski-Gebhardt said. “This is a critical time, and now the whole country — maybe even the whole world’s — eyes are even more on Luzerne County because of what has just occurred.”

Election Board Vice Chairman Peter Ouellette said he was more reassured after county Manager C. David Pedri released a statement Friday afternoon in response to the initial federal investigatory findings that had been publicly disclosed the previous day.

Pedri said the ballots were opened and discarded by a temporary worker who was in the office from Sept. 14 to Sept. 16, when he was immediately removed from service after county Election Director Shelby Watchilla discovered and reported the problems with the ballots.

The county is providing extensive supplemental training to both full-time staff and temporary seasonal independent contractors and has contacted state officials for additional assistance regarding training and best practices, Pedri said. A security camera also remains in the office for monitoring purposes.

Ouellette said the “very serious” discovery “could have easily been swept under the rug.”

“Shelby saw irregularities and reported them immediately for the integrity of the process, which shows her own integrity,” Ouellette said. “She did the right thing, and I’ll stand by her.”

Even with protocols and training in place, Ouellette said there’s always a possibility a worker won’t follow them. Detecting such cases quickly and bringing them out in the open is essential and what occurred in this situation, he said.

“I can’t imagine a county employee thinking about doing something like that. It may simply come down to a temp trying to hide a mistake. We don’t have complete control over every human being,” Ouellette said. “I have confidence in Shelby and confidence in the bureau.”

Ouellette also said he’s certain election board members and bureau staff would “never put party before the integrity of the election.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office noted seven of the nine discarded votes were for Donald Trump.

While stressing it has no bearing, Ouellette said Watchilla is a longtime Republican.

“This election is for the people of the county of Luzerne, and we want it to be on the up and up,” Ouellette said.

The five-member election board is scheduled to meet virtually at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. Instructions on attending the meeting are posted on the authorities/boards/commissions online meeting link at luzernecounty.org.