A county in northeastern Pennsylvania, which faced issues with ballot paper shortages during the 2022 election—resulting in halted voting and a court order to extend poll hours—has resolved a lawsuit by agreeing to secure an adequate supply of paper for future elections.
Luzerne County reached a settlement agreement last week with two voters who were unable to cast their votes due to the insufficient paper at polling sites in Freeland and Shickshinny. As part of the settlement, the county will pay $30,000 in legal fees and will provide training for election workers, focusing on the necessary procedures for ensuring an adequate supply of ballots.
The lawsuit, which was filed in March 2023 in a federal court in Scranton, contended that the “chaos on Election Day was entirely preventable and predictable,” citing a lack of training as a contributing factor. The case was dismissed earlier this week.
The lawsuit accused election officials of instructing voters that they could not cast their votes when polling places ran out of paper, advising them to return at a later time. Voters who returned were still denied the opportunity to vote, as the locations had not received paper ballots by that time.
Following these complications, a judge extended the polling hours by two hours in Luzerne County, which also delayed the reporting of election results. Voting was disrupted in 16 out of 143 polling sites, with some locations resorting to emergency or provisional ballots to continue the process.
An August letter from Luzerne County’s attorney, Drew McLaughlin, to the federal judge indicated that during the last four elections held in the county over the past two years—including the 2023 and 2024 primaries, the 2023 General Election, and a special election—shortages of ballot paper had not reoccurred.
Efforts to obtain comments from McLaughlin and county manager Romilda Crocamo, who finalized the settlement, were not successful.
In June 2023, Luzerne County District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce reported that his investigation into the ballot paper shortage did not uncover any criminal wrongdoing or intentional efforts to suppress voter turnout, attributing the incident instead to inexperienced supervisory staff.
Luzerne County has been a Republican stronghold, with Donald Trump securing victories in both the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.
