Luzerne County won't use newest voting equipment from new vendor in primary election
WILKES-BARRE — Luzerne County will not use the latest voting equipment from its new vendor in the May 19 primary election because the state has not yet certified Hart InterCivic’s newest equipment.
The county was planning to use Hart’s Vanguard equipment in 2026 when county council in September authorized a five-year, $2.87 million lease with the Texas company. But because of a delay in the state certification of Vanguard scanning/tabulation and ballot-marking devices, the county will use the company’s Verity equipment as a contingency option for the primary, Election Director Emily Cook said at Tuesday’s election board meeting.
Cook said she hopes the county will be able to use the Vanguard equipment for the November general election. The Verity and Vanguard equipment are very similar, so the transition for voters and poll workers should be smooth, Cook explained.
The Hart lease allows the county to change its primary voting method at polls to hand-marked paper ballots and significantly reduce the amount of ballot-marking devices used at polls. The county approved $3.6 million contract to buy ballot-marking devices from Dominion Voting Systems in 2019, and Dominion’s five-year contract for support and licensing expired at the end of last year.
https://www.citizensvoice.com/2026/01/21/luzerne-county-wont-use-newest-voting-equipment-from-new-vendor-in-primary-election/