EDITORIAL: Our Opinion: County council should clean house on Election Board
Mar. 2—Luzerne County Councilman Stephen J. Urban's supposed term as the chairman of the county Election Board will likely be a short one, as his fellow council members vote today on a resolution for his removal, less than a week after his appointment.
In a nakedly political stunt and in clear violation of the county home rule charter, which bars elected officials from serving on county boards, two GOP Election Board members appointed Urban, a fellow Republican, taking advantage of a temporary majority created by the resignations of two other board members, including the chairman.
The council will also consider resolutions to remove the board members who appointed Urban, Keith Gould and Joyce Dombroski-Gebhardt, at tonight's virtual meeting. And, unlike the Republican trio, who argue they are following the state Election Code, council members favoring the removal resolutions will have state and county law and the advice of the county solicitor on their side.
Under the home rule charter, the county council names four of the five election board members — two each from the two parties whose candidates won the most votes in the previous gubernatorial election. Those four members then choose a chairman. All serve four-year terms.
In counties without home rule, the three elected county commissioners serve as the election board, according to the state Election Code. In home rule counties, "the board of elections shall consist of the members of the county body which performs legislative functions" — in Luzerne County's case, the 11-member county council — "unless the county charter or optional plan provides for the appointment of the board of elections."
Clearly, the Election Code defers to home rule counties to set the rules for who serves on an election board.
And the county home rule charter clearly states that a member of any county board who "knowingly or willfully violates any provision of this Charter" shall have his or her seat declared vacant.
Urban, Gould and Dombroski-Gebhardt, either because they are misinformed or merely cynical, have all tried to sow doubt about the conduct of the Nov. 3 election, with Gould and Dombroski-Gebhardt refusing to certify the vote totals. Their vague and unfounded allegations have apparently contributed to the resignation of two fellow members of the election board.
In appointing Urban, Gould and Dombroski-Gebhardt hope to cement a board majority that could pursue policies making it harder for the average citizen to vote, by, for instance, restricting drop-off boxes or introducing additional, onerous requirements for mail-in voting.
In trying to seize control of the election board, Urban, Gould and Dombroski-Gebhardt have knowingly and willfully violated the home rule charter after knowingly and willfully working to baselessly erode public trust in our election system.
They have to go. Today.
