WVIA – Luzerne County will not provide drop boxes for mail-in ballots By Sarah Scinto | WVIA News Published September 19, 2024 Crocamo said all of the locations had security issues, such as “lack of oversight.” “I am particularly concerned about the potential for illegal activities,” she said.
They claimed security risks, and that the drop box in a Mountain Top, Pennsylvania assisted living old folks home “lacks oversight”? And I thought well then somebody better check in on the senior citizens living there? What place could have better oversight to begin with than a facility with 24 hour staff on duty and probably already existing video surveillance?
Those of us who live in northeastern Pennsylvania could easily guess this is probably about Hazleton. Hazleton is infamous for an anti-immigrant ordinance in the aughts under Mayor Lou Barletta, who went on to serve in the U.S. Congress representing parts of Luzerne and Lackawanna County. I’m pretty sure this is about election denial conspiracies and anti-immigrant sentiments toward Hazleton. It doesn’t really make sense for voter intimidation at mail ballot dropboxes considering that conservatives have been for many months running ads here in northeastern Pennsylvania, targeting Trump fans, telling people to vote for Trump by mail. Republicans embraced mail in ballots again in Pennsylvania. Trump has only recently reversed and started fear mongering again about mail ballots. But the reporters covering this should’ve certainly asked Romilda Crocamo if she’s admitting that she has concerns about conspiracy theories leading to vigilantism. It should be determined exactly what security matters in this “political climate” are of concern. And then deal with those concerns if they’re at all valid. Voter disenfranchisement of elderly & disabled citizens, or exposing the high risk to crowded polling locations, is not the answer.
Obviously I wrote to my elected representatives as soon as I read about this, because it’s a disability justice issue. And I obviously was not the only one. The state attorney general is reported to have sent a letter to Luzerne County, and the ACLU of PA filed a lawsuit. The drop boxes will be deployed.
Drop boxes back in Luzerne County, lawsuit hearing canceled By Sarah Scinto | WVIA News Published October 7, 2024 at 10:55 AM EDT Luzerne County voters will be able to use ballot drop boxes in November once again. County Manager Romilda Crocamo has reversed her decision and said she will deploy the drop boxes “as a result” of correspondence from the state Attorney General. The American Civil Liberties Union was due in court today on a lawsuit they filed against Luzerne County on behalf of voters and voting rights group In This Together NEPA. They alleged Crocamo broke with state election code by pulling the boxes without a vote from the county board of elections. That hearing has been canceled and the motion withdrawn as of Monday morning. According to a statement from ACLU, the group withdrew the motion after Crocamo “agreed to restore mail ballot drop boxes.”