The findings have dramatically changed in a fresh bipartisan review of Luzerne County mail ballot drop box surveillance video footage from the November 2022 general election, according to reports attached to Wednesday’s county Election Board meeting.
A second review was initiated because the first one yielded an alarming shortfall in the number of ballots dropped off compared to those collected.
The second review, conducted by board Chair Denise Williams (Democrat) and Vice Chair Alyssa Fusaro (Republican), detected more voters and ballots on the recordings, bringing the count close to or in line with the numbers of ballots ultimately collected from the boxes.
Prior board members Audrey Serniak (Democrat) and Jim Mangan (Republican) had conducted the initial review, although board members later said the board as a whole should have set up precise procedures in advance to ensure nothing was missed.
Two drop box sites were involved in the review — the Pittston Library, which no longer serves as a drop box location, and Misericordia University’s Passan Hall in Dallas.
The specifics, according to the newly released report:
• Pittston Library
Sheriff records show 247 ballots were collected at 3:04 p.m. Oct. 25, 2022
Mangan and Serniak witnessed approximately 30 voters dropping off ballots.
Williams and Fusaro saw 213 voters dropping off approximately 235 to 241 ballots into the box.
The review covered footage from the last time the box had been emptied — 2:49 p.m. Oct. 20 to the next sheriff pick-up Oct. 25.
It notes there is an approximately one-minute gap between two of the surveillance footage files.
“This could account for the number of ballots deposited viewed being under the total number recorded as received by bureau,” the report said.
• Misericordia University
Sheriff records document 130 ballots were collected from this box at 2:04 p.m. Oct. 25.
Mangan and Serniak witnessed approximately 15 voters dropping off ballots.
Williams and Fusaro witnessed 118 voters dropping off approximately 128 to 132 ballots into the box.
The review covered footage from the prior sheriff’s department pick-up at 2:01 p.m. Oct. 20 to the next collection on Oct. 25.
Review specifics
Mangan had proposed the bipartisan board spot-checking of surveillance footage last year, saying the board had agreed to require surveillance of all drop boxes and has an obligation to take a look at some of the resulting footage.
During a board discussion about drop boxes this past February, Fusaro publicly cited the findings of the Mangan/Serniak sample surveillance review that had been completed in December 2023, saying it found the number of voters dropping off ballots at two locations was significantly less than the number of ballots reported as received.
Williams said she was concerned frames of footage were missed when a computer mouse was used to fast forward or that footage had not been viewed from the entire period under review.
Williams and Fusaro were selected to perform a second review and publicly report their findings.
Their report said the Pittston Library footage was viewed on fast forward for the majority of the viewing until a voter appeared in the video. When that occurred, the footage was stopped, slowed down, rewound and viewed closely to create a log of the voters and number of ballots they were carrying.
The two board members also watched footage on a higher speed throughout the time the library was closed, it said.
The same fast forward/stop method was used for the Misericordia box footage, it said. That camera system was motion-activated, so it shut off when there was no activity.
In both reviews, the following additional observations were noted:
• A number of voters deposited more than one ballot, but there is no way of telling whether or not they had the proper paperwork.
For background: Under Pennsylvania law, voters must return their own ballots. The only exceptions are for disabled voters who complete a designated agent form to have someone deliver a ballot on their behalf. A person serving as a designated agent is only permitted to serve as an agent for one voter unless the additional voters live in the same household, such as an elderly couple.
• No voter revisits to the boxes or obvious fraud were witnessed.
• Sheriff deputies followed all procedures when collecting ballots.
Wednesday’s election board meeting starts at 6 p.m. in the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre. Instructions for the remote attendance option are posted under council’s authorities/boards/commissions online meeting section at luzernecounty.org.