WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — How you hand in your mail-in ballot in Luzerne County could determine whether it is counted this Election Day.
The first step is to fill out the ballot and seal it inside the secrecy envelope. This is the plain envelope that only says "OFFICIAL ELECTION BALLOT" on it.
"Don't mark this envelope. Don't write on it. Don't initial it. Don't put anything on the secrecy envelope, OK? And then, that secrecy envelope, once it's sealed up, goes into this return envelope, which will also need to get sealed," explained Acting Deputy Director of Elections Emily Cook.
After sealing, the final outer envelope must be signed and dated correctly.
Things that would disqualify a mail-in ballot from being counted would be an incorrect signature or date or an unsealed envelope. If either of the envelopes is unsealed, it will need to be reviewed and will likely not be counted.
On Election Day, the drop box at Penn Place on 20 N. Pennsylvania Avenue in Wilkes-Barre is the only one people in Luzerne County can bring their mail-in ballots by 8 p.m.
If you are coming to the Luzerne County Bureau of Elections to drop off your mail-in ballot, do not put it in the U.S. Postal Service mailbox that's outside the building. Take your ballots inside the lobby of Penn Place and put it inside this box labeled "Luzerne County Official Ballot Drop Box."
"We want to make sure that everybody's vote counts, so making sure that it's done properly is very important," added Cook.
If you would like to contact the Luzerne County Bureau of Elections, you can find contact information on their website by clicking here.