LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU)— Dominion has taken responsibility for a spelling error that caused the Luzerne County Board of Elections to cancel over 6,700 ballots.
Romilda Crocamo, Luzerne County Manager, released a statement saying:
I would like to extend our sincere gratitude to Dominion for their collaborative efforts with Luzerne County to address the recent 119th Legislative District ballot issue. I also appreciate the acknowledgement that the County Election Bureau has diligently performed all of its tasks with precision and integrity.
In particular, I want to recognize the exceptional professionalism exhibited by our Director of Elections, Emily Cook. Her leadership has significantly elevated the standards of our bureau, and her commitment to excellence is evident in every aspect of our operations.Luzerne County remains steadfast in its commitment to ensuring that our elections are fair, free, and safe for all residents. Together, we will continue to uphold the values of democracy and serve our community with transparency and dedication.
Romilda Crocamo
Initial investigation indicates the file from the board's vendor that was sent to the printer contained the error, but they are still working to confirm the findings.
According to a statement sent by the Luzerne County Board of Elections, voters in the 119th Legislative Districts began reporting a misspelling of Representative Alec J. Ryncavage’s last name Friday morning.
The Board of Elections reported the issues and began discussing remedies with Rep. Ryncavage.
Both parties decided it would be best to send out postcards to inform the affected voters and cancel the original ballots.
Rep. Ryncavage released a statement expressing his disappointment with the error, and issues with polling places last year.
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On Friday morning, it was brought to my attention by voters in the 119th District that they received their mail-in ballots, and my name was spelled incorrectly on their ballots. They were confused and despite wanting to, did not feel comfortable voting for me because they did not think their vote would count for Alec Ryncavage. I immediately contacted the Luzerne County manager and was told they were aware of my name being misspelled and contacted the Department of State to determine a solution. PA Election Code states the Election Board is responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the ballot, including that the candidates’ names are spelled properly. Accordingly, it appears that the Board should be responsible for correcting this error on the ballot.This is a disheartening moment for Luzerne County. Two years ago, my campaign was met with the shocking lack of paper at polling stations. Today, we are once again faced with a troubling issue — this time, the inaccuracy of over 6,700 ballots.We will closely monitor developments as the Election Board continues to make decisions regarding the processing and final counting of all mail-in ballots.
Rep. Alex Ryncavage
The Board of Elections will then send out new ones to the over 6,700 voters who were impacted in the next few days.
If a voter does send their original ballot in, they will still receive the corrected ballot and a postcard notifying them of the issue.
If you do not receive a ballot via the mail by 10/26/2024 you can contact the Bureau at 570-825-1715 for additional options such as coming to the Bureau in person or voting provisionally on Election Day.
