SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA CO. (WOLF) — Lackawanna County has agreed to develop a comprehensive written election procedures manual as part of a legal settlement stemming from a ballot-printing error that affected hundreds of Republican voters during the 2025 primary election.

The Center for Election Confidence announced Tuesday that a consent decree has been reached with Lackawanna County, the County Board of Elections and the county’s Department of Elections and Voter Registration.

The agreement resolves a federal lawsuit filed by Scranton resident Eugene Kopko, who challenged the county’s handling of absentee ballots during last year’s primary election.

According to the lawsuit, approximately 545 Republican voters in the City of Scranton initially received incorrect absentee ballots that included Republican candidates and races from the 2024 primary election instead of the 2025 ballot.

However, Lackawanna County Elections Solicitor Anthony Lomma told FOX56 that the error was identified quickly and corrected.

Lomma said corrected ballots were mailed within 48 hours, along with instructions explaining how voters should proceed.

He said the issue originated after a legal challenge involving Bob Bolus, whose petition to appear on the Republican primary ballot was challenged because of his felony conviction. According to Lomma, ballot printer Election Systems & Software (ES&S) accepted full responsibility for producing the incorrect ballots.

Lomma also acknowledged county election staff made a mistake by failing to catch the printing error before the ballots were mailed.

Under the consent decree, Lackawanna County has agreed to create a comprehensive written election manual outlining election procedures and quality control measures designed to reduce the likelihood of similar errors in future elections.

Election attorney Linda Kerns, who represented Kopko, said the litigation revealed the county lacked a detailed written procedures manual governing election operations and quality control.

Kerns said she hopes the manual being developed by Lackawanna County could eventually serve as a model for election offices across Pennsylvania.

Lomma said the county had already begun developing such a manual before the lawsuit was resolved and believes the document will help ensure a similar mistake does not happen again.

The consent decree was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.