Lackawanna County voters casting ballots in Tuesday’s election will help shape the future of their county and municipal governments, school boards and judiciary at the state and local levels.

With local races and several judicial retention questions on the ballot, here’s everything voters should know as they exercise their democratic right:

At the polls

Election day polls open Tuesday at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m., but voters still waiting in line at 8 p.m. have a right to cast their ballots.

Those who plan to vote in person will check in at their polling place and be given a paper ballot to mark and scan.

Only first-time voters or those voting for the first time at a new precinct will have to show identification. Approved forms of identification include a Pennsylvania driver’s license or ID issued by the state Department of Transportation, IDs issued by any other state agency or by the federal government, a U.S. passport or armed forces ID, or a student or employee ID.

Anyone who experiences issues at the polls should call the county elections department at 570-963-6737 without delay.

“Don’t wait until the next day to call us,” county elections Director Beth Hopkins said. “We can usually rectify any situation immediately. We can send a rover, we can send a sheriff, we can get the judge of election on the phone. … Don’t wait until (you’ve) already left the polling place.”

Drop-box voting

Only one mail-in ballot drop box, the drop box located at the county government center in downtown Scranton, is available on election day. Other drop boxes the county placed in Carbondale, Clarks Summit, Dickson City, Moosic and Roaring Brook Twp. have already been removed.

Voters can access the government center drop box until 8 p.m., when the polls close. All mail-in ballots must be received by the county elections department by that time.

Those who prefer not to use the drop box can also hand-deliver their completed mail-in ballot to the county elections department until 8 p.m. The department’s office is located on the second floor of the government center, 123 Wyoming Ave. Scranton.

By law, voters may only return their own ballot, regardless of whether they use the drop box or choose to deliver it to the elections department by hand.

Special elections

Lackawanna County ballots will feature two special elections to fill unexpired terms for the offices of county commissioner and county clerk of judicial records, respectively.

Those offices did not appear on primary election ballots in May, as the county Board of Elections voted to declare the commissioner special election in late August and the clerk of judicial records special election in early September.

The unexpired terms for both positions run into early January 2028.

Two-sided ballot

Voters are reminded to flip their ballots over and vote both sides.

While different municipalities and school districts feature different races, the backside of every ballot will at least feature several judicial retention questions where voters can vote “yes” or “no” to retain individual state Supreme Court, Superior Court and Commonwealth Court judges. They can also vote “yes” or “no” on the question of whether to retain county Common Pleas Court Judge Andy Jarbola for an additional 10-year judicial term.

Where to vote

A list of polling places, sample ballots and other election-related information is available online at lackawannacounty.org by clicking the “Elections & Voter Registration” link under the government tab at the top of the website.

The Pennsylvania Department of State also provides a wealth of election information, including a “find your polling place” tool, online at pa.gov/agencies/vote.

Weather forecast

Election day should feature quite a bit of sunshine, with temperatures starting out in the lower 40s and climbing into the 50s in the afternoon before dropping back into the upper 40s by early evening, AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Tom Kines said.

It will be “rather blustery” and might feel slightly more chilly than the actual temperature because of the wind, but should be a relatively nice day overall, he said.

“I don’t think we can use the weather as an excuse not to be out voting,” Kines said Monday. “Maybe Mother Nature ends up being the winner tomorrow, because it should be a pretty good day.”