Luzerne County printing mail ballots

Luzerne County Election Director Emily Cook said Friday she is “excited to announce” printing of Nov. 5 general election mail ballots is now underway, and voters should expect to receive their ballots by the end of next week.

Approximately 32,500 requests for mail ballot voters have been approved to date.

The county administration promised to get ballots in voters’ hands before the state’s Oct. 22 issuance deadline so they have time to complete and return them through regular mail. Mail ballots must be physically in the election bureau by 8 p.m. on Nov. 5, and postmarks do not count.

Details about drop boxes are still under discussion due to pending litigation.

As it stands, voters will have the option to bring their completed mail ballots to the election bureau on the second floor of the county’s Penn Place Building, which is located at the corner of Market Street and Pennsylvania Avenue in Wilkes-Barre.

Mail voters receive instructions, a ballot, a yellow secrecy envelope and a white outer return envelope that contains the voter’s name and a label with a bar code that, when scanned, identifies that voter in the state’s database. The yellow secrecy envelope says “official election ballot.”

After filling out their ballot, voters must place it in the yellow envelope, seal it and then put that envelope inside the one with the label/bar code to be returned to the county.

Voters must sign and date the outer envelope where indicated. The date refers to when the ballot was filled out, not a birth date.

Instructions must be precisely followed to ensure the ballot is counted, officials say.

Voters will be able to check the status of their mail ballot through the online tracker at pavoterservices.pa.gov .

Voters with questions about mail ballots, or any election matter, can contact the bureau at 570-825-1715 or by emailing elections@luzernecounty.org.

On-demand voting

Voters will have the option to apply for mail ballots at the election bureau from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays until Oct. 29, except for Columbus Day on Monday, Oct. 14.

With this on-demand option, registered voters can request and, if approved, receive a mail ballot on the spot so it can be completed and submitted in the election bureau.

As in the past presidential general election, the bureau plans to set up a screening area in the lobby of the county’s Penn Place Building in downtown Wilkes-Barre to reduce the wait inside the election bureau on the second floor of the building.

On-demand ballots take time because each application must be checked and approved while the voter waits.