Put partisanship and party aside as Election Board moves forward
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We’re heartened that so many people applied to serve on the Luzerne County Election Board. We’re also a bit worried about the motives of some, but that doesn’t detract from the generous decision by so many to seek an unpaid position that used to be almost a formality but now has become a hotbed of partisanship and criticism.
As staff writer Jennifer Learn-Andes reported in Tuesday’s paper, 10 Democrats and eight Republicans responded to the request for applications.
As she also reported, some may be ineligible to serve under the county’s home rule charter, which bars people from being on the election board if they are or have been the following within the past four years: a county employee, a member/employee of any other county authority/board/commission, an elected public official or public employee, an employee or someone compensated by any individual or business serving as a contractor to the county or any county authority/board/commission, a paid consultant for the county or any county authority/board/commission or an officer in a political party.
The county law office has started reviewing all candidates with an eye on eligibility, but might we make one humble suggestion: Public interviews of candidates were held Monday. Such interviews are required. Yet it may make more sense to review candidates for eligibility before such interviews. There are a lot of factors, and expediting the appointments should take precedent, but it seems an idea worth considering.
A bigger issue exists: The need for serious deliberations by County Council before appointments are made. In the wake of the debacles that brought us here, picking solid candidates with the best intentions matters greatly.
We had two people resign from the election board in rapid succession, one explicitly citing partisan attacks and politicization of the position. Of the remaining three members (one Democrat and two Republican) the two Republicans brazenly appointed County Councilman Stephen J. Urban as election board chairman despite warnings that the county charter forbids a county councilman from sitting on the board. County Council then removed Urban and the two Republicans from the board, leaving only person on a five member board.
All of that came on the heels of a tumultuous election followed by months of a losing president who repeatedly lied and claimed victory despite losing nearly every legal challenge mounted on his behalf and despite numerous county, state and federal officials — right up to the U.S. Attorney General — saying the election results were accurate.
All of this hurt trust in our electoral system, and it cannot be overstated: Democracy survives only if voters trust the system.
Former President Donald Trump could significantly reduce the damage being done by conceding he lost in a fair election. Sadly, that seems improbable at best.
The next best thing, locally, is for county council to carefully choose the two Republicans and one Democrat needed to fill the election board. They would join the sitting Democrat in selecting the fifth member, who we would strongly suggest should be an independent, reflecting the substantial growth of voters who register as such.
County Council members need to put partisanship and party aside. Pick people who will work to restore trust through fair elections, not those with other agendas.
That’s how you save Democracy.
— Times Leader