Pennsylvania county settles lawsuit after running out of paper ballots in 2022 election

Luzerne County, Pa., settled a lawsuit with two voters after the county ran out of paper ballots during the 2022 general election.

The county settled the case last Tuesday after agreeing to pay $30,000 in legal fees to the two voters, William French and Melynda Anne Reese, according to the Center for Election Confidence (CEC), which backed the plaintiffs. French and Reese were unable to cast ballots in the November 2022 election due to paper shortages at their polling places.

Luzerne County admitted in the settlement that the plaintiffs and other voters were disenfranchised “because of the County’s failures to supply adequate ballot paper, failure to adopt proper policies and procedures, and failure to train election personnel.”

The lawsuit was initially filed in March 2023 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

The county also agreed to adopt new election policies and procedures regarding obtaining election supplies; order ballot paper following each election cycle; retain an election law attorney to change the election administration policies and procedures; and train election officials on election procedures and equipment and state and federal election law.

“This settlement represents multiple meaningful steps forward for election integrity in Luzerne County,” CEC Executive Director Lisa Dixon said. “Through the litigation and settlement process, the County has agreed to create policies and procedures that we hope will serve as a model for the rest of the Commonwealth and perhaps even the entire country.”

During the 2022 general election, polling places in Luzerne County ran out of paper ballots, resulting in a court order to keep polls open for two extra hours. Voting completely stopped in 16 of the 143 polling places in the county, some of which only stopped until they turned to emergency or provisional ballots.