Monday is the last day for unregistered would-be voters to register if they plan to cast a ballot in the primary election May 19.
For voters who prefer not to vote in person at their polling place, the last day to request a mail-in or civilian absentee ballot for the primary is May 12.
Lackawanna County voters returning completed mail-in ballots can deposit them in any of six secure drop boxes the county again deployed for the primary in Carbondale, Clerks Summit, Dickson City, Moosic, Roaring Brook Twp. and Scranton. All six receptacles are kept under “around-the-clock video surveillance,” per the county.
Luzerne County is also again making ballot drop boxes available to voters there. One is located at the Hazleton Broad Street Exchange Building and accessible weekdays from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. until 4 p.m. on May 18. The other, located at the county-owned Penn Place Building in Wilkes-Barre, is accessible weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and will remain accessible until 8 p.m. on Election Day, May 19.
By law, voters may only deposit their own ballot in the boxes.
In Lackawanna County, the Scranton drop box located inside the entrance to the county government center, 123 Wyoming Ave., is accessible weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. It also will remain accessible until 8 p.m. on Election Day, when the polls close. All mail-in ballots must be returned to county elections departments by 8 p.m. that day to be counted.
Other drop boxes are located at:
Fallbrook Senior Community Center, 185 Fallbrook St., Carbondale, accessible weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Clarks Summit Borough Building, 304 State St., accessible weekdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Dickson City Borough Building, 901 Enterprise St., accessible weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Moosic Borough Building, 715 Main St., accessible weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Roaring Brook Twp. Municipal Building, 430 Blue Shutters Road, accessible weekdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
All Lackawanna County drop boxes other than the one located at the county government center in downtown will be removed at noon on Friday, May 15.
State voter registration data updated Monday shows Democrats continue to maintain a robust voter registration advantage in Lackawanna County, the region’s lone Democratic stronghold, where they outnumber their Republican counterparts 76,174 to 52,286.
Republicans maintain a more-modest registration advantage in Luzerne County, where they outnumber registered Democrats 91,186 to 84,079.
Voter registration, absentee and mail-in ballot applications are available online at lackawannacounty.org by clicking the “Elections & Voter Registration” link under the government tab at the top of the page. Voters can also access a list of polling place locations and other election-related information on the county’s website.
Luzerne County election information is available at www.luzernecounty.org/396/elections.