Luzerne County officials certify Nov. 4 general election results

Luzerne County’s Nov. 4 general election was officially put to rest Monday with the Election Board’s certification of the results.

A total 78,484 county voters cast ballots, or 38.25% of the county’s 205,194 registered voters, said county Election Director Emily Cook.

This is the highest turnout since 2007 for a “municipal election” held every other year that primarily features local municipal, school, and county races, according to county archived results.

There were fewer ballots cast in November 2007 — 66,359 — but the turnout was 38.28% because the total voter registration count was 173,344 then.

Final figures from this year’s general election show 29% of the votes were cast through mail ballots, or a total of 22,730, Cook said.

The remaining 55,754 ballots were cast at polling places on Election Day, including 370 paper provisional ballots, she said.

Election Board members did not raise any concerns Monday before voting to certify the results.

Although the board has one more meeting this year on Dec. 17, three public comment speakers thanked outgoing board members Alyssa Fusaro and Daniel Schramm.

Fusaro, a Republican serving as vice chair, and Schramm, a Democrat, wrap up their terms the end of this year and have both said they won’t be seeking reappointment.

County Council must fill both seats on the five-citizen board in early 2026.

County Controller Walter Griffith, who finishes his term at the end of this year and did not win re-election, said Fusaro and Schramm have contributed to the progression of county elections and the board during their tenure.

“I know it’s difficult. There are a lot of moving parts in elections,” Griffith said.

In turn, Fusaro thanked Griffith for completing audits and other work as controller.

“You’ve been invaluable in this county,” Fusaro told Griffith.

Past board member Audrey Serniak, of Plains Township, also commended Fusaro and Schramm and everybody else involved in the election.

“It really went very, very smoothly,” Serniak said.

County Manager Romilda Crocamo, who attended remotely, also thanked Fusaro and Schramm on behalf of the county, wished them well and described all election workers as “heroes.”

“It’s not easy to run an election, and it’s not easy to be a board member. It takes a great deal of time and effort and knowledge,” Crocamo said. “People don’t know the intricacies of what needs to be done to make an election happen.”

Three issues were highlighted in this election cycle.

Most recently, the county discovered several hundred test ballots were included in the unofficial election results. County officials said Dominion Voting Systems failed to clear the test ballot selections from a scanner/tabulator during pre-election testing. All selections from the test ballots were voided, officials said.

In another issue the county blamed on Dominion, the electronic ballot marking devices had a wording error in the Supreme Court retention questions that incorrectly stated Superior Court, although county officials said the yes-no selections made by voters were not impacted. Polling places were directed to post a message about the error and inform voters before they cast their ballots.

The county is switching to voting equipment from Hart InterCivic for the 2026 general election.

The third matter involved a second mail ballot sent to approximately 30 voters. The county election bureau took immediate action to contact the affected voters and ensure only one ballot was accepted from each. County officials said the state voter database did not generate the usual pop-up warning to stop the second ballot issuance, while the state said the problem stemmed from a county error.

During public comment Monday, Griffith also suggested an update on the work performed by Attorney Timothy Gates, of Harrisburg-based Myers Brier and Kelly LLP, noting the firm has been paid $244,649 since 2023.

Crocamo had retained Gates in July 2023 to help develop standard election procedures and assist with other election issues following the release of county District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce’s report on the November 2022 general election paper shortage. The DA had provided Crocamo with the name and curriculum vitae of Gates as a proposed consultant because Gates had served as the Pennsylvania Department of State chief counsel and has extensive experience in election requirements.

Crocamo told the board Monday the standard operating procedures have been completed and are regularly updated as requirements change and new issues come to light. Gates also is actively involved in each county election, she said, promising to provide information to the board for its December meeting.

“He’s put in a great deal of time and effort with helping us make our elections successful,” Crocamo said of Gates.