Latest news with #Fusaro
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Luzerne County concludes write-in vote tally, slowed by names written in jest
Jun. 4—"Bruce Springstein!," Luzerne County Election Board Vice Chairwoman Alyssa Fusaro announced to the room of county workers and board members processing May 20 primary election write-in votes. A few minutes later, another voter write-in selection of Bart Simpson for a school board seat was shouted out by someone else. To break the monotony of reviewing more than 20,000 write-in votes and illustrate the scale of the problem of write-ins submitted in jest, the group decided to log the questionable ones on a dry-erase board. The board eventually had to be flipped to the other side to squeeze them all in. A second board would have been needed if the group had recorded off-color write-ins, participants said. It was funny but not funny. Fusaro said many voters also write in their own names or those of friends or family, even though none of them want the seat. Unlike the ones on the dry-erase board, these potential real contenders must be made part of the official record in races that have no candidates appearing on the ballot. Some voters also go out of their way to write the same name for every single race on the ballot — local, county and statewide offices. Write-ins that are not serious slow down completion of the write-in tallying while the public is pushing to see the write-in results as fast as possible, Fusaro said. In addition to the usual cartoon characters, celebrities both dead and alive, classic figures from fiction, national-level politicians and random criminals, there were these verbatim selections in the county primary: "someone different," "no one else," "anybody else," "anybody honest," "unknown," "none of you," "all suck," "stop stealing," "someone new," "why I pay," "I've no kids," "anyone represent taxpayer," "none," "no buddy," "not me," "not you" and "not any of these clowns." Other voters tried to convey a broader message by writing in "the U.S. Constitution," "life," "liberty," "justice," "property," "corruption," "sleaze," "racist," "connected" and "Free Palestine." Also worth mentioning were selections of "box of paper," "baloney and ham sammich" and "box of rocks." County officials started observing a marked increase in write-in votes in 2006 when the county switched to electronic ballot marking devices, with some theorizing the write-in option was more noticeable than it had been on the old lever machines. The May 20 primary election tallying group spent six days at the county's Penn Place Building in downtown Wilkes-Barre adjudicating write-in votes and ballots that had been flagged due to extraneous marks and other issues. Around 3 p.m. Tuesday, county Election Director Emily Cook alerted everyone that there were 39 ballots remaining for review. "We can do this," someone yelled. A collective countdown erupted when the last ballot review was underway about 10 minutes later. Cook said a report on the write-in winners will be posted on the election page of the county website at Letters will be sent to write-in winners asking them to accept or decline the nomination by a certain deadline. Those accepting will be required to submit paperwork. The election board is set to certify the primary results at 10 a.m. Monday in the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre, said Election Board Chairwoman Christine Boyle. Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Luzerne County Election Board approves two drop boxes and pilot program
Apr. 17—Luzerne County will again provide two mail ballot drop boxes for the May 20 primary election inside county-owned buildings in Hazleton and Wilkes-Barre, a county election board majority decided Wednesday. The box in the Penn Place Building lobby in Wilkes-Barre will have a camera and other added security features because the board also agreed Wednesday to participate in a pilot program. This box from Runbeck Election Services photographs both the face of the person at the box and each side of the envelope inserted. It also has multiple points of internal fire suppression in the event an explosive material is somehow inserted through the opening. The slot itself is fitted to the width of a mail ballot envelope, which prevents the insertion of more than one at a time. The standard mailbox-style drop box used in past elections will be set up inside the Broad Street Exchange Building in downtown Wilkes-Barre. Video surveillance cameras in each building must record footage of the drop boxes throughout their use. The election board had agreed last October to provide two drop boxes at the same locations for the November 2024 general election, concluding two additional boxes hosted by outside entities could not be deployed because they cannot be anchored to the floor or a wall. However, assistant Solicitor Gene Molino said there was no formal board vote to provide only two boxes at that time, which is why official confirmation was necessary Wednesday. Both actions were approved by four election board members: Chairwoman Christine Boyle, Rick Morelli, Albert Schlosser and Daniel Schramm. Board Vice Chairwoman Alyssa Fusaro voted no on both. Fusaro, a Republican, listed a series of reasons she won't support any drop boxes Wednesday. The boxes are not mandated through legislation to comply with statewide election uniformity requirements, she said, adding she believes most voters want the boxes eliminated. Morelli, the other Republican board member, said there were board discussions about adding a fifth drop box early last year, and the county is now down to two, which he described as a "very good compromise." He also said both political parties should rethink their strategies if they believe two drop boxes will cause them to win or lose. Regarding the pilot program decision, Fusaro said the election bureau did not inform the board it would be applying to participate, causing the board to be "slapped with it after the fact." Fusaro also questioned the cost and predicted there will be issues with ballots jamming. Schlosser, a Democrat, said he believes the new drop box will help with election integrity and is worth trying, especially for residents who do not want to vote at polling places or rely on the postal system. Schramm, a Democrat, said the enhanced drop box photographs those depositing ballots and links those photos to specific ballots, which is a "step forward." Morelli said he is pleased the county was selected to participate in the pilot and believes the expense is worthwhile to address security concerns that have been raised by drop box critics. Boyle, a Democrat, agreed with Fusaro that she felt "caught off guard" when the pilot program was announced but said the board later had an opportunity to examine the drop box at a public demonstration. She said the new box is a "potential better way forward" as stated by Schlosser, Schramm and Morelli. County Election Director Emily Cook said the bureau has prepared a video on the new box that will be posted on the election page at Approximately 50,000 county voters have requested mail ballots this year. Cook said she is aiming to start mailing them this week. Other businesses In other business Wednesday, the board voted to: —Designate Boyle to serve with Fusaro on a the bipartisan board that spot-checks drop box surveillance footage — a practice initiated in 2023. —Approve Cook, Election Deputy Director Steve Hahn and election Poll Worker Coordinator Amanda Latoski as the canvassing board members for the primary election. Fusaro voted against the appointments. Authorized by the board last month, the staff canvassing board will handle post-election processing of flagged mail and provisional ballots during the public adjudication process to reduce the workload of the volunteer election board. Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Yahoo
Rumors swirl about possible serial killer after multiple human remains found along Connecticut shoreline: Police do not think so
CONNECTICUT (WTNH) — The sign says no trespassing on the gate, but it appears that is exactly what someone did at the end of Woodward Street in Danielson, where human remains were found Wednesday. That disturbing discovery is not the only one in or near eastern Connecticut. Other remains were found in the City of Groton and just over the state line in Foster, Rhode Island. Human remains found in Killingly, state police say 'It would seem that there's a pattern and that's scary,' said one woman who did not want to be identified. State police told News 8 this in a statement: '…there is no information at this time suggesting any connection to similar discoveries in RI & the CT shoreline area, and there is also no known threat to the public at this time.' News 8 recently learned the remains found near a cemetery in the City of Groton on March 19 were in a suitcase. The other human remains found in Foster, Rhode Island March 27 were that of a woman. 'I would tell people don't rush to judgement,' Groton Police Chief Louis Fusaro said. He said the same rumors are swirling around his investigation into a report of a suspicious man at Bluff Point State Park on April 3. Here's a portion of the call reporting that incident to the Groton Police Department. 'I went back around. Turned the other way,' said the caller. 'He went back the other way and then he started like walking back as I turned around to walk back to the car.' 'What I heard on our phone call initially was remarkedly different from what we saw posted over the weekend last weekend,' Fusaro said. In that Facebook post, the caller said the man pulled out a switchblade knife. Groton police are also investigating the disappearance of Steven Gush, whose car and phone were found off of Route 184 on March 29. Some wonder if this could all be the work of a serial killer. Police do not think so. 'What I can say is we don't believe there's any connection between them,' Fusaro said. 'But I've seen people draw conclusions. I've seen the stuff and it's causing a little bit of concern in our community.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
