Dallas City News

The April 23 primary election ballot order has been set for 17 candidates running for Luzerne County’s proposed government study commission.

No challenges were filed by Tuesday’s deadline seeking removal of candidates from the ballot.

At noon Wednesday, in a process known as the “casting of lots,” the county election bureau placed 17 numbered balls in a container to determine the order.

County Acting Deputy Election Director Steve Hahn read the name of each candidate, and those present had the option to pick a ball. For the others, Acting Election Director Emily Cook shook the container and retrieved a number for them.

Names were called in the order in which candidates filed their nomination paperwork.

The final determination of ballot order: Cindy Malkemes, Dallas Township; Mark Shaffer, Wilkes-Barre; Alisha Hoffman-Mirilovich, Fairview Township; Vito Malacari, Hanover Township; Claudia Glennan, Salem Township; Stephen J. Urban, Kingston; Andy Wilczak, Wright Township; Ted Ritsick, Forty Fort; Charles Sciandra, Duryea; Mark Rabo, Hazleton; Sandra DeBias, Hazle Township; Tom Bassett, Pittston; Vivian Kreidler-Licina, Nescopeck Township; Fermin Diaz, West Hazleton; Matt Mitchell, Plains Township; Tim McGinley, Kingston; and Dave Chaump, West Pittston.

Four candidates opted to participate in the casting of lots at the county’s Penn Place building in downtown Wilkes-Barre: Hoffman-Mirilovich, Chaump, Bassett and DeBias.

Primary election voters — including those who are not Republicans or Democrats — will simultaneously decide if they want to convene a commission and choose seven citizens to serve on the panel. The selected seven would only serve if the referendum passes.

Candidates traditionally hope their names are listed first, thinking it might be an advantage, but there are many cases where order had no bearing on those elected.

However, there could be an impact if all 17 names do not appear on the same screen page of the ballot marking devices at polling places because voters must touch a scroll-down box to see the names of the remaining candidates.

Mitchell, a prior county council member, said he experienced this situation in the November general election, when 10 county council candidates were on the screen and scrolling was required for voters to see the names of the remaining two candidates — Mitchell and Kimberly Platek.

Mitchell said he received calls the morning of the election from voters indicating they could not find his name.

If the same layout would be used again, scrolling would be required to find seven candidates, he said. Mitchell said eliminating some of the white space on the screen could allow all candidates to appear together without making the wording too small.

“As long as everyone is on one page, it is more fair,” Mitchell said.

County Manager Romilda Crocamo said Wednesday she and election bureau representatives will be addressing the ballot layout with voting system supplier Dominion Voting Systems Inc., which handles the programming.

Crocamo said the layout must be “carefully crafted to provide equal visibility to all candidates, without any bias or disadvantage to any individual.”

“In order to ensure transparency and fairness in the electoral process, it is crucial that the layout of the ballot for the Government Study Commission is clear and accessible to all voters. and fair to all candidates,” Crocamo said. “A well-organized ballot design is essential for voters to easily identify and select their preferred candidates.”

She added the county is “committed to fostering an inclusive and democratic election environment where every voice is heard and every vote counts.”

In the study commission contest, candidates will be listed with their municipalities because it is a countywide race, Cook said. Political affiliation won’t be listed on the ballot because the seat is nonpartisan.

Ballot positions also were selected Wednesday for Republican committee seats.

The party has two committee seats in each of the 186 voting precincts, or a total of 372, officials have said.

Based on a review of the list, 71 precincts have at least two candidates on the ballot. The remaining 115 precincts have only one candidate or no candidates, which means winners will be selected through write-in votes.

Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.