WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania on Tuesday sued Luzerne County Manager Romilda Crocamo to void her decision dispensing with ballot drop boxes in next month’s general election.
The ACLU accused Crocamo of “unilaterally” deciding to remove the county’s four drop boxes, a move that “usurped” the authority of the county’s elections board. The lawsuit wants a judge to reinstate the drop boxes.
“The county manager had no legal authority to pull this end run around the board of elections’ decision to continue offering Luzerne County voters a safe and easy option to vote by mail, and we hope the court will quickly restore the four drop boxes,” said Witold Walczak, the ACLU of Pennsylvania’s legal director, in a statement.
The suit was brought by the ACLU and the non-profit In This Together NEPA on behalf of three Luzerne County voters who planned on using ballot drop boxes, according to the complaint.
The suit names Crocamo and the county’s board of elections as defendants.
Crocamo declined to comment Tuesday on ongoing litigation. A future court date was not immediately available.
Last month, Crocamo gave notice to the elections board the county would not make use of ballot drop boxes, which were first put in place in 2020.
Crocamo’s reasoning was twofold: security and money.
The county’s insurance policy on the drop boxes has a $10,000 limit, which leaves the government exposed should problems arise, she said. She also said video surveillance of vestibules housing drop boxes is not a “foolproof” check on “illegal activities.” (The ACLU says there’s been no substantiated case of abuse or fraud regarding the drop boxes.)
Her move quickly proved controversial.
More than two dozen organizations called on Crocamo to reverse herself. In front of the county courthouse, state Sen. Marty Flynn called for an investigation by state Attorney General Michelle Henry.
Others greeted her announcement as the right decision.
Greg Ziemba, the chair of the Luzerne County Republican Party, told Newswatch 16 last week the drop boxes were an “emergency, temporary” measure and are no longer needed.
State Rep. Alec J. Ryncavage, R-119th, wrote to Crocamo on Sept. 24 to “commend” her decision.
“With tough decisions often comes resistance,” Ryncavage wrote. “I understand that there will be groups and individuals who may challenge your choices, casting doubt or attempting to lobby against the actions you’ve taken. As a State Representative elected to serve 65,000 residents of Luzerne County, I want to make it clear that you are not standing alone in this.”
In an interview last week with Newswatch 16, Crocamo said she is confident in her authority to remove the drop boxes. Like Flynn, she too urged Henry to investigate for the sake of transparency.
“The charter is clear, the county manager has the authority over personnel issues, including deploying the sheriffs and I also have oversight over county property,” she said.
Not so, says the ACLU of Pennsylvania.
The state election code vests authority over elections in the county’s elections board, on which Crocamo does not serve.
In its complaint, the ACLU of Pennsylvania said the county elections board rejected a motion in February to eliminate drop boxes.
“At no point was the matter formally brought to the Board of Elections and no public action was taken by the Board of Elections, since their February official action, to change the policy of deploying the four drop boxes,” the lawsuit stated.
Marian K. Schneider, the ACLU of Pennsylvania’s senior policy counsel for voting rights, sent Crocamo a letter Sept. 24 urging her to retract her order. She did not reply, the civil liberties group said.
“Your last-minute unilateral move and unsubstantiated public statements that drop boxes are not secure elevates a false narrative about mail voting that sows distrust in election administration,” Schneider wrote. “It serves only to create chaos in the community.”