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Public commenters urge county to require indemnification for pilot Runbeck dropbox; councilor voices broader opposition to dropboxes
Summary
A member of the public urged Luzerne County Council and county legal staff to include an indemnification clause in the agreement for a pilot Runbeck dropbox that has not been certified by the Commonwealth; a council member expressed opposition to dropboxes generally.
During public comment at the Luzerne County Council meeting on April 22, 2025, Mark Raybo of Hazleton urged the council, county manager and the office of law to include an indemnification clause in the county’s agreement with Runbeck for a pilot “modified Dropbox” that the election board recently approved for testing.
Raybo said the device had not been certified by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or the Department of State and that, because the pilot machine is uncertified, the county should seek to be held harmless in any contract with Runbeck. He requested an indemnification clause "so that way it would hold harmless the County of Luzerne in case anything happens with this machine with regards to chain of custody or reliability issues." Raybo framed the request as focused on county liability rather than a policy judgment on ballot drop boxes.
Separately, Councilman Thornton spoke during the public-comment period and expressed general opposition to dropboxes, stating he has been against them since their COVID-era use and raising concerns about masked or anonymous depositors and the possibility of multiple ballots being deposited by the same person. Thornton said: "I'm against them. I've been against them from the very beginning."
The transcript shows council noted that the election board is an independent body; the council did not take action on the public comments and has no purview over election board procurement decisions, though staff indicated the county manager and legal office could review contract language if the county enters an agreement related to the pilot program.
