Ballot boxes will be installed in battleground districts in northeastern Pennsylvania this fall after county leaders faced pressure and reversed their decision to do away with them.
Friday’s announcement comes less than a month after Luzerne County Mayor Romilda Crocamo announced that four drop boxes in the county would be destroyed due to concerns that the county would not be able to secure them. Ta. “We can’t get a drop box, and, you know, sometimes we have to make difficult decisions,” she said in an interview last month.
But voting rights groups sued Kurokamo last week, saying he cannot unilaterally remove the drop boxes.
Elections in the county are jointly overseen by a five-member Board of Elections, which is responsible for developing election policy, and a county manager, who is responsible for human resources. A hearing in the case was scheduled for Monday. Voters in states important to Kamala Harris and Joe Biden have already begun receiving and returning mail-in ballots.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry sent a letter to Mr. Crocamo advising him that county election boards have the authority to set policy regarding drop boxes.
According to a common law agreement filed Sunday in Luzerne County Court, Mr. Kurokamo denies there is a legal obligation to deploy drop boxes, but will block them from being deployed during this election cycle. He says he has no intention of doing so.
“This is a huge victory for Luzerne County voters,” said Alisha Hoffman Mililovich, executive director of In This Together NEPA, which sued the county over the drop boxes.
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“All Pennsylvanians have the freedom to choose how they vote, whether it’s to vote in person on Election Day, vote by mail, or use a drop box. We commend the Luzerne County Board of Elections for making mailboxes available in the United States and commend the county mayor for changing course in the best interest of voters throughout the county,” Hoffman Mililovich said in a statement. mentioned in.
In a statement, Crocamo said drop boxes have been deployed at two county facilities and “are under video surveillance.” She said the county is still awaiting approval from two private locations.
“Ms. Crocamo continues to have concerns about security, human resources, and financial issues associated with installing ballot drop boxes in Luzerne County, but given the importance of the November 5th election, Luzerne County residents will “She agrees that she should be given every opportunity to participate in her important civic duty and vote in the upcoming election,” her attorney Mark Cedrone said in a statement.
