Secretary of Commonwealth visits Luzerne County

WILKES-BARRE, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — We’re less than a month away from the Pennsylvania primary, and on Thursday, the Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt paid a visit to Luzerne County to talk about how they are getting ready for any issues that might come up.

28/22 News Reporter Jason LiVecchi has more from our Local Election Headquarters.

We have 67 counties in Pennsylvania and they’re very different when it comes to election administration.

It was a chance for Secretary Al Schmidt to get an up-close look at Luzerne County’s voting machines and the people who are hoping for a flawless vote on April 23.

Schmidt talked about the mishaps in past elections in the county but said frequent turnover of staff has a lot to do with it.

“A lot of counties especially counties that there has been a lot of turnover and election administration having encountered more of those issues and that’s one reason why the Department of State organized a training unit to help train counties especially new election administrators, so they know what to do to prepare for election day,” said Schmidt.

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This visit was part of a goodwill tour to boost encouragement and trust for the election process here in Pennsylvania, and Schmidt has been traveling around the state to show that his department is available for county officials if they need help in the primary.

The staff seemed to appreciate the visit.

“It’s great being able to sit down and have a conversation and know that the person you’re talking to is listening to your feedback and feeling heard,” said Luzerne County Acting Director of Elections Emily Cook.

During the secretary’s visit to the county, he mentioned how the election processes changed in Pennsylvania in the past couple of years.

“They are changes for the better, elections have never been safer and never been more secure. We have a voter-verifiable paper ballot for every vote that’s cast in Pennsylvania,” said Schmidt.

But he added although his department is the overseer of the county’s election committees, it’s up to each individual county to maintain a well-run election.

“It’s counties that run elections and we’re very happy that we have an administration that actually is reaching out to the counties listening to the counties,” said Luzerne County Manager Romilda Crocamo.

The last day to register to vote is April 8 and the Pennsylvania primary election is April 23.

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