Man recorded apparently stuffing a ballot box in Scranton

An unidentified man inserted multiple ballots into a Lackawanna County vote dropbox in Scranton the day before the May 18 primary election, a county video recording shows.

State law says individual voters may mail or return only their ballots to a county board of elections in person.

“The only exceptions are if you are a voter with a disability and have designated someone, in writing, to deliver your ballot, or if you need an emergency absentee ballot,” said Ellen Lyon, a spokeswoman for the state Department of State, which oversees Pennsylvania elections.

If you’re not entrusted by law with handling ballots, possessing an official ballot that’s not yours is a second-degree misdemeanor, which carries a maximum penalty of up two years in prison and a $5,000 fine, according to the state election code.

County Commissioner Chris Chermak, who obtained the video through a right-toknow request, publicized it during a commissioners meeting Wednesday and posted it on his YouTube page.

Chermak, who went on record opposing the use of dropboxes last September, does not allege specific voter fraud, but said the video confirms his fears about the potential for fraud.

“As you probably know, I was opposed to the direct use of the dropboxes because I believe there’s no way to make sure that they are secure,” he said. “And now I have proof that my concerns were legitimate.”

The video, broken into three separate segments, shows the man holding multiple ballots in one hand and at least one in the other as he enters. He takes about 10 seconds to place them in the dropbox at the entrance to the government center.

During the commissioners meeting, commissioners Debi Domenick and Jerry Notarianni, both Democrats, said the illegal dropping off of ballots does not invalidate the ballots or indicate voter fraud.

Both acknowledged it shouldn’t have happened, but Notarianni said elections officials process who gets mail-in ballots and have a procedure to keep tabs to ensure against fraud.

“They shouldn’t have done that,” Notarianni said, referring to the man dropping off multiple ballots.

“But the ballots were still legally counted, which is the contention of the great lie,” he added, referring to President Donald Trump’s unfounded claims that the November 2020 presidential election was stolen from him.

District Attorney Mark Powell said no one has asked his office to investigate, but he would if asked.

Chermak, a Republican, demanded the county Board of Elections discontinue using dropboxes, the Democratic commissioners identify who monitored dropboxes and ensure the adequate surveillance they promised last year and all video be captured and maintained for at least two years.

He also asked the sheriff ’s office to review all video recorded of dropboxes and refer anything inappropriate or illegal to the district attorney’s office for investigation.

Sheriff Mark McAndrew said he doesn’t have the time to review all the pre-election video and has access only to the county building’s video, which is usually deleted after 90 days.

“I just don’t have the time for that,” McAndrew said. “I’m not going to do it unless I’m ordered to and then I don’t know I have it (the video).”

Late Thursday afternoon, county general counsel Don Frederickson questioned how anyone can tell from the video that the man dropped ballots into the dropbox. He said the county will not do away with dropboxes, arguing they are convenient to voters and the video shows no evidence of fraud anyway.

During the meeting, Chermak said someone anonymously tipped him off “that on Monday, May 17, 2021, at approximately 2:20 p.m., someone had allegedly placed two handfuls of ballots in the dropbox at the government center.”

The state Supreme Court affirmed the use of dropboxes last year amid widespread condemnation from Republicans who see the court as overstepping its jurisdiction.

Though video cameras are supposed to monitor all drop boxes, Chermak said the sheriff ’s office only has access to video at the county government center downtown and not other dropboxes elsewhere in the county.