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I write in opposition to the charter amendment proposed by Luzerne County Councilman Gregory Wolovich Jr., which would give Luzerne County Council authority to appoint all five Election Board members and to limit the chair’s tenure to just two years instead of four. The amendment is a solution in search of a problem. At a recent council meeting, the councilman provided no reason for his amendment. Rather than offering a justification, he instead stated the amendment would give council more power over the board and “streamline the process.” In my opinion, assigning more authority to council will effectively politicize the Election Board, thereby reducing the public’s trust not only in the board but in the county’s election results.

To remind readers, under the commission form of county government, the three commissioners were the election board for all elections, except when commissioners stood for election. Commissioners also appointed the Election Bureau director, which meant they essentially controlled how elections were run as well as making decisions critical to the outcome of elections, such as ruling on disputed votes. The county commission form of government inherently politicizes the management of elections.

The Home Rule charter was adopted to remove politics from the day-to-day operations of county government, particularly for functions like elections, and professionalize government. Home Rule’s method of appointing board members depoliticizes the board’s work as much as possible, especially in requiring that the board select its chairperson, someone who could (and should) be an independent or at least not meaningfully involved in any party’s organization.

My position is based on over 50 years of studying governmental systems and elections and my four years serving on the first county Election Board from 2012 to 2016. Whatever issues the current board has (and past boards had) are not a function of its members, the length of their terms or how they are appointed. Councilman’s Wolovich’s amendment will only politicize the board.

From 2012 to 2016, the board was ably chaired by H. Jeremy Packard, a registered independent. The board’s members personally got along very well and were fully committed to making nonpartisan decisions based on evidence. We rarely had a vote that wasn’t unanimous. From my observations of subsequent boards, they too have demonstrated remarkable cohesion and professionalism.

So, what recent problems have surfaced that must be addressed? Paper shortages, faulty equipment and failure to list hometowns adjacent to candidates’ names. In my opinion, these incidents are caused by the high turnover of Election Bureau directors, bureau staff and poll workers. With each departure, invaluable institutional memory is lost, which will not be restored with the proposed amendment. If the county can retain its new manager and Election Board director for several years, it will bring needed stability to both offices and provide the institutional memory to run elections more smoothly. T

his amendment, however, does not solve the issues that exist but instead creates a fix in search of a problem.

Thomas J. Baldino, PhD

Emeritus Professor of Political Science

Wilkes University