Pennsylvania County Election Officials Decide to Restore Drop Boxes
Luzerne County, one of Northeastern Pennsylvania’s most populous counties, will deploy drop boxes for the general election, reversing a previous decision to remove them entirely.
The decision, from Luzerne County Manager Romilda Crocamo, comes after correspondence from Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry (D), according to reporting from WVIA News. In late September, Crocamo removed drop boxes in Luzerne County, citing safety concerns for the security of the drop boxes. The county board of elections voted 3-2 in February in favor of dropboxes for the November election.
By reinstating drop boxes in Luzerne County, voters will be able to return their ballots using this easy and convenient option.
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Crocamo said the safety concerns stemmed around nationwide reports of people putting suspicious items and substances in them, and the county’s lack of resources to properly secure them. In early September, the Republican National Committee (RNC) sent a letter to the chief solicitor of Luzerne County, urging election officials to better “secure” their drop boxes before the election, or else they would take legal action.
“It’s not an indictment against drop boxes, we’ve used them in the past. It’s just that right now, in Luzerne County, the political climate is really at the boiling point,” she said at the time, according to WVIA News. “I can’t guarantee the safety of the individuals who have to work with the drop boxes. That was the basis of my decision.”
As a result of Crocamo’s decision to remove dropboxes, the ACLU of Pennsylvania filed a lawsuit on behalf of In This Together NEPA — a Pennsylvania-based community nonprofit — to get them reinstated. The lawsuit, filed on Oct. 1, alleged that Crocamo violated state election law by unilaterally deciding to remove drop boxes and asked the court to reinstate them.
“Drop boxes are a safe, secure, and easy way to ensure mail ballots are returned timely, and they are especially important for people with disabilities and those experiencing last-minute difficulties going to the polls on Election Day,” Witold Walczak, legal director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania, said in a statement when the lawsuit was filed. “The county manager had no legal authority to pull this end run around the board of elections’ decision to continue offering Luzerne County voters a safe and easy option to vote by mail, and we hope the court will quickly restore the four drop boxes.”
The ACLU of Pennsylvania withdrew their motion for a preliminary injunction after Crocamo agreed to reinstate the drop boxes.