Latest news with #LebanonCountyBureauofElectionsandVoterRegistration
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'I just wanted to vote': Cleona Rosie the Riveter honored for voting 81 years in a row
The first time Lorraine Koons ever voted in a presidential election was in 1944, when she voted for then President Franklin D. Roosevelt's fourth term. "I wasn't old enough for the primary that year," she said. "You had to be 21 to vote then in those years, and so I was only 21 in time for the general election." Since then, Koons has voted 81 years in a row, saying that she "never ever" thought about skipping an election and not submitting a ballot. "I think voting to me is an important part of life," she said. "You're helping your government in a small way." That why members of the Lebanon County Lebanon County Bureau of Elections and Voter Registration, along with county and state election officials, came out to Lebanon Valley Home May 9 to acknowledge the 102-year-old Koons' dedication to fulfilling her civic obligation. "I think it's wonderful," she said. "They really surprised me. I didn't expect all this." Koons recently wrote the elections office a letter saying that she had recently moved, and a certificate and a commemorative plate she received in 1997 honoring her induction into the Pennsylvania Voter Hall of Fame had gone missing. The Voter Hall of Fame acknowledges commonwealth residents who have voted in every November election for at least 50 consecutive years. "She wanted to know if there was any way to get a copy of at least the certificate because she would like to pass that along someday," Elections Director Sean Drasher said. In the process of helping Koons, the elections office staff realized that she had continued her voting record for almost 82 years. The event Friday was supposed to be a small affair, but Drasher said that once state and county officials found out they wanted to join in as well. "People like Lorraine remind us that we still have a civic obligation to get out there and vote," he said. "And to do it with such a cheery smile, she's a great ambassador." Koons, who spent all but the last three years living in Cleona, graduated from Lebanon High School in 1940 and began working at the Cleona Paper Box Factory. Last year she spoke with the Lebanon Daily News about her time as a "Rosie the Riveter," helping to repair U.S. aircraft at the Middletown Air Depot during World War II. "I worked in the fuselage department," she said. "That department put in new gas tanks and we worked on the oxygen systems and the oil systems. We repaired any damage that was made from enemy fire." In December 2024, Koons received the Rosie the Riveter Congressional Medal of Honor for her service. Lorraine Koons: Cleona Rosie the Riveter's proudest moments: working the air depot and lifetime of voting But as proud as she is about her time as a Rosie, Koons is also grateful for her chance to vote in every election. Voting became important to her at a young age, through her aunt who was very politically minded. "When I was just little, I had an aunt that was very active in local politics," she said. "She took me along with her to all the conventions, rallies and speeches. ... I couldn't wait till I was 21. I just wanted to vote." To celebrate her voting record May 9, the election office staff got Koons a cake, baseball hat, a card and an elections blanket. State Rep. Russ Diamond presented Koons with a House of Representatives proclamation, and state Rep. Chris Gebhard, along with County Commissioners Michael Kuhn and Jo Ellen Litz, also expressed their congratulations. Koons said that it's a privilege to go out and vote, especially during the primary. "So many people think, 'Oh I'm not going to vote in the primary,' and that's the important one," she said. "That's when you pick the people that are going to run." The Pennsylvania 2025 municipal primary is scheduled for May 20. Matthew Toth is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at mtoth@ or on X at @DAMattToth. This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Cleona Rosie the Riveter recognized for 81-year voting record
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Two Lebanon mayoral candidates off primary ballot after Capello challenges petitions
Two potential Lebanon city mayoral candidates have been removed from the Republican ballot after incumbent mayor Sherry Capello challenged their petitions. President Judge John C. Tylwalk ordered Friday, March 21, that photographer Scott Hawryluk, also known as Scott Church, and Sharon Zook be removed from the Republican primary ballot. On March 17, Capello's attorney Greer Anderson filed objections to the candidate's petitions. In the objections, Capello said that both Church and Zook had deficiencies in the signatures obtained, including electors not registered in the district, not registered on the date signed, electors registered as a different party and information omitted or left blank. According to court documents, Zook had 18 deficiencies, while Church had 107 deficiencies. Capello said that during her discovery she found signatures on petitions from outside the city, including Cleona, Jonestown, Myerstown and North Lebanon Township. "Why should those people have a say in this city's election?" she said after the hearing. "They don't have a right to determine who should be on a city ballot. It should be our people who determine who's on the ballot and who the choices are, and so that to me was the most blatant item I found fault with. These should be city residents who determine who their choices are." Lebanon city mayoral candidates require a 100 residents signature minimum to be on the primary ballot. Both candidates' deficiencies would put them below the minimum requirements. Capello said that she erred on the side of caution in her objections for the petitions, saying that she was only looking for the most blatant violations when reviewing potential candidate's petitions. Capello has raised similar objections to candidates in previous elections. Citing the Lebanon County Bureau of Elections and Voter Registration officials seminar in January for potential candidates for the municipal primary, Capello said that every candidate had the opportunity to make sure that they had the valid number of signatures for each petition. "You need to be able to fill out the paperwork to run for office correctly, because how are you going to do the many things that are required in the job, in the roll as the mayor of a third-class city with talking about more than $60 million in funds," she said. "You need to understand instructions and be able to follow them." Capello said she would hope that city residents would be more concerned about election integrity. "I would hope and pray that it would be more important to the citizens of Lebanon city that they know the elections are fair and equitable, and that candidates are going to follow the rules and that the citizens of Lebanon city are deciding who the choices should be," she said. "Not citizens outside Lebanon city." ARE and Be CAFE owner Damian Vargas will still remain on the ballot for the Republican primary, facing off against Capello in May. Cesar Liriano is the only candidate in the Democratic primary for Lebanon city mayor. Capello said she did review Vargas's petition as well for errors, but said she was not able to find enough signatures under the 100 limit to raise an objection. Capello is related to Vargas by marriage. "Really, everyone had a genuine opportunity to follow the rules and procedures, and obtain 100 ballot signatures," she said, adding later that "this is a serious role. This is a serious position. You need to take this seriously." During his hearing, Church asked the judge to dismiss Capello's complaints because the address provided for Capello from the elections office was not her current address. Capello had recently moved within the city limits after the list of registered Republican candidates had been released. "When I found out today that the public list of voters is available at any time ... It very well would have changed my argument, and it did stick a pin in it. I admit that, and I'm fine with that," he said after the hearing. "But we have to understand that I'm not the only one that got this list of voters. Every Republican candidate, not just for mayor but all of them, were following this guideline provided by the voter registration office to be able to complete their paperwork." In February, potential candidates were able to stop by the Lebanon County Elections office for a packet that included information about the office they plan to run for, filing fee information and a list of registered voters in their municipalities who could sign their petitions. Church made no objection in court to the 107 deficiencies and said afterward that he did not understand the process completely when he originally picked up the paperwork from the elections office. While he is not planning a write-in campaign against Capello for the May primary, Church said that the process has "lit a fire" in him for city government. Insisting he will be taking more active roll in the city, Church said he will be "Scott Church running for mayor for the next four years." "While I made some mistakes this time, I'm not going to make those mistakes next time," he said. "Next time there will be no dispute, there will be no smoking gun, there will be no issue at all. Next time I'm going to win." Zook did not object to the mayor's objections to her petition list Friday, other than positive comments about the Lebanon County Bureau of Elections and Voter Registration office. The Pennsylvania 2025 municipal primary is scheduled for May 20. The last day to register to vote is May 5. The last day to request a mail-in or absentee ballot is May 13. Residents looking for more information can visit the Lebanon County Voter Registration Office website at or contact them by phone at 717-228-4428. Matthew Toth is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at mtoth@ or on X at @DAMattToth. This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Two Lebanon mayoral candidates off ballot after incumbent challenges
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lebanon County elections officials educate residents on how to run for office
Lebanon County Bureau of Elections and Voter Registration officials hosted their first "how to run for office" meeting, attempting to educate residents who may consider running for a local or county office. More than 40 residents from both political parties showed up at the Lebanon County Municipal Building Jan. 30, many hoping to learn what they need to do to run for various municipal offices. Lebanon County Elections Director Sean Drasher said the goal was to reach out to the community to answer common questions residents have when attempting to run for office. "We thought we could get out as much as we can legally do today, that's why we brought the (county) solicitor in with me," he said. "Maybe I can't advise them on how to fill out the campaign finance report, but what I can do is say 'Here are mistakes people commonly make' and that's what we tried to do." Voter turnout in the 2024 general election in Pennsylvania was among the highest on record since at least 1988, Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt announced Jan. 31. The elections office is predicting only a 34% voter turnout for the municipal elections in Lebanon County. During the 2024 presidential election, the county election office reported that number to be close to 80%. "But the parties drive out the turnout as best they can, I get out the word as best I can, but this just doesn't have the Hollywood glitz factor of the presidential," Drasher said. "But the stuff that is voted on in this ballot is hugely consequential to your town and the people in town." In the 2025 municipal primary, most Lebanon County municipalities will be voting for auditors, mayors, borough council members, township supervisors and school board members. Drasher said these are the people that will impact residents' day to day life, like what school taxes will look like and how the potholes get fixed. "So if you have these gripes, rather than get on Facebook and gripe about it, this is the election you can get involved," he said. "Some of the positions are paid. Some of them aren't. Some of them you don't have to give up your day job." Many incumbent candidates have already declared their intention to run in the 2025 municipal election. Lebanon County District Attorney Pier Hess Graf and County Sheriff Jeff Marley, both registered as Republicans, have announced that they will seek re-election. On Jan 21, Lebanon City Mayor Sherry Capello said she plans to run for a fifth term, while local photographer Scott Church announced Jan. 16 that he planned to challenge her for the Republican nomination. "I would like to see some interesting races, and hopefully doing a meeting like this will drive a few more people to run," Drasher said. "Maybe not thousands or hundreds, but if we get another dozen to run in races they might not have, that's why we are doing it." Starting Feb. 10, potential candidates will be able to stop by the Lebanon County Elections office for a packet of information that includes information about the office they plan to run for, filing fee information and information of Potential candidates can start circulating petitions on Feb. 18, and the deadline to submit those petitions is March 11. Drasher said most offices people can run for only require 10 signatures from residents in the same party in the district that they are running. During the Jan. 30 meeting, Drasher told potential candidates that they should not wait until the deadline to submit their paperwork. If they try to submit it on the day of the deadline, there might not be time to make any corrections to keep them from being disqualified. The elections office also announced the creation of a new online campaign finance portal, located at On the portal, candidates and office holders will be able to file their campaign finance docs by either uploading the documents directly, or by using a wizard to fill those documents in. Drasher said the hope is to streamline the process for candidates, while requiring less paperwork. "At lot of good people that want to get involved, they look at paperwork and instantly their eyes glaze over," Drasher said. "It really isn't that bad. Most of the paperwork, while it looks long, it's your filling out your contact information and what you're running for... So it's not as bad as it looks." While election officials are not able to offer things like legal advice for potential candidates, Drasher said the Jan. 30 meeting was a way of "connecting a face" to potential candidates before they have a conflict or a question. "We decided it would be nice to reach out to the community and put a face to elections, so that they can see we are human, that we are here to facilitate this election going smoothly and we want to help them however we can," he said. The Pennsylvania 2025 municipal primary is scheduled for May 20. The last day to register to vote is May 5. The last day to request a mail-in or absentee ballot is May 13. Residents looking for more information can visit the Lebanon County Voter Registration Office website at or contact them by phone at 717-228-4428. Matthew Toth is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at mtoth@ or on X at @DAMattToth. This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Lebanon PA officials tell residents on how to run for municipal office
