ACLU Asks Court to Force Pennsylvania County to Reinstate Mail Ballot Drop Boxes

A man photographs himself depositing a ballot in an official ballot drop box at Philadelphia City Hall on Oct. 27, 2020. Mark Makela/Getty Images

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is asking a Pennsylvania judge to order Luzerne County officials to reinstate drop boxes for mail-in ballots, according to court documents filed on Oct. 1.

Luzerne County Manager Romilda Crocamo in September ordered the removal of the four drop boxes that the county has been using in recent elections. She said she visited the drop box sites and determined that the county could not keep them secure.

“While I recognize that drop boxes can provide alternative means for voters to cast their ballots, I must prioritize the safety and security of our community in the current political climate,” she said.

However, Crocamo does not have the authority to remove the drop boxes, ACLU lawyers said, pointing to state law that places the power to buy and maintain ballot boxes with county boards of elections.

“The county manager’s unilateral decision to eliminate the deployment of four election drop boxes was ultra vires of her authority and unlawfully usurped the Board’s authority and responsibility over administration of Luzerne County’s elections,” the lawyers said in a complaint lodged in Luzerne County’s Court of Common Pleas.

The Luzerne County Board of Elections in 2020 authorized drop boxes. The boxes were used in elections in 2020 and 2022, and the primary earlier this year. Board members turned down a motion to remove the boxes at a Feb. 21 meeting.

Crocamo is not a member of the board and never brought the matter back before members, making her action unlawful, according to the documents.

The ACLU is asking the court to order Crocamo to reinstate the drop boxes.

“Drop boxes are a safe, secure, and easy way to ensure mail ballots are returned timely, and they are especially important for people with disabilities and those experiencing last-minute difficulties going to the polls on Election Day,” Witold Walczak, legal director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania, said in a statement. “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.”

The ACLU says it contacted Crocamo after her announcement but received no response, prompting the lawsuit.

The ACLU is representing another group, In This Together NEPA, and three voters who say they cast ballots by mail.

Jenny L. Wilczak, one of the voters, says she planned to vote by mail in the upcoming presidential election, citing back surgery scheduled around Election Day. Wilczak “wants the reassurance that her vote will be received by the deadline which is not always possible using the U.S. Postal Service to timely deliver a mail-in ballot,” according to the complaint.

Crocamo has said that voters can drop their ballots off at the election bureau, which is located inside Penn Place Building.

The Epoch Times reached out to Crocamo for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.