With Democrats now in the majority, Luzerne County Council is set to vote Tuesday on introducing an election worker protection ordinance.
A similar ordinance was rejected by all Republican council members in October 2024, when the 11-member legislative body had seven Republicans and four Democrats.
Due to Nov. 4 general election voter selections, County Council now has eight Democrats and three Republicans. Tuesday’s meeting is the first since the Jan. 5 reorganization.
At least four votes are required to introduce ordinances. A public hearing and majority council passage would be necessary at a subsequent meeting for the ordinance to take effect.
Councilwoman Joanna Bryn Smith, a Democrat, had proposed the 2024 election worker protection ordinance, saying it would provide an additional option for law enforcement to charge those accused of a range of alleged crimes against poll workers.
Some of the Republican Council members had questioned the purpose at that time, saying laws already exist at the state level. County Election Director Emily Cook had said, “There are no legitimate actionable offenses that were not already addressed as protections for these workers under the law.”
Citizens had expressed mixed views, with supporters arguing the measure was needed and opponents questioning its potential impact on free speech.
The new version up for introduction and discussion Tuesday would subject ordinance violators to a $1,000 fine per offense, but it eliminates the past inclusion of up to 90 days of incarceration in the county prison for nonpayment of the fine.
A comparison also shows wording has been added for County Council to authorize and empower the county District Attorney’s Office and Sheriff’s Department, the Pennsylvania State Police, and all local municipal police departments to enforce the ordinance in their jurisdictions.
The ordinance would cover anyone formally assigned to assist in official county election duties, including Election Board members, Election Bureau staff, poll workers, Election Day judges, ballot processors, and vote counters.
Four items are listed under prohibited conduct:
• Obstructing, hindering, or interfering with an election worker in the lawful performance of election duties.
• Harassing, threatening, or intimidating an election worker through any means, including in-person, telephonic, written, or digital communications.
• Disseminating or publishing an election worker’s personal information — including home addresses, phone numbers, or family details — with the intent to harass or intimidate, known as “doxxing.”
• Engaging in any form of retaliation against an election worker for their participation in or administration of an election, including public defamation, threats to employment, or economic coercion.
The ordinance acknowledges state and federal laws prohibit “certain acts of interference or intimidation,” but it said County Council “finds it necessary to establish explicit local protection to ensure safe and uninterrupted election administration.”
Digital threats and online harassment originating from outside the county also would fall under the ordinance if the election worker is in this county at the time of the offense, it said.
Shortly after the last ordinance failed to pass in October 2024, a majority of Republicans on County Council approved an “election safety” resolution that includes discouraging the use of mail ballot drop boxes.
That resolution said all election workers “have a right to perform their duties free of harassment, intimidation, and threats against their physical safety” and that council “stands in full support” of state and federal law prohibiting these actions.
It discouraged the use of drop boxes “because of safety and security concerns associated with them.”
Bryn Smith had questioned the legality of that resolution at the time, pointing to then-Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle A. Henry’s letter informing county Manager Romilda Crocamo that the county election board has sole authority over the deployment of drop boxes under the state’s election code.
Tuesday’s council meeting will start at 6 p.m. in the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre. Instructions for the remote attendance option will be posted on council’s online meeting section at luzernecounty.org.
The Democrats on council, in addition to Bryn Smith: Chairman Jimmy Sabatino, Vice Chairwoman Brittany Stephenson, Chris Belles, Steve Coslett, Dawn Simmons, Denise Williams, and Patty Krushnowski. The Republicans: Harry Haas, John Lombardo, and LeeAnn McDermott.