A Carbon County official has voiced his concerns over continuous changes the state keeps announcing over election laws and decisions.

On Thursday, Commissioners’ Chairman Wayne Nothstein aired his frustrations over the unanswered questions about the upcoming election, including whether or not the primary will take place on the scheduled date, the redistricting map not yet being finalized, mail-in ballots and the ever-changing guidances counties keep getting from the state.

“The county commissioners are asking for clarification on many elements of Act 77 of 2019, including drop boxes, permanent voter lists, valid signatures,” he said. “The counties are also in favor of extending the precanvassing period for mailings and absentee ballots to align and allow ample time to prepare ballots for tabulation.

“Overall, the counties must have clear and efficient rules to help restore the public’s confidence in the integrity of the election. The state and counties must work together to provide appropriate support for our elections.”

Nothstein said that the topic was discussed during last week’s County Commissioners’ Association of Pennsylvania meeting and many commissioners agree that the state is not providing proper direction to the counties with regards to election rules.

He cited the presidential election, where the state was changing election rules up until the election, which then provided additional stress on the staff and confusion in the public.

“They’re sending mixed directions to all the counties in Pennsylvania,” he said, “and it’s no wonder that we’ve had such a high turnover (in election directors) around the commonwealth because of the lack of direction.

“The counties take their responsibility seriously to ensure the integrity and security of the election process,” Nothstein added. “The counties need clear rules to enable consistent implementation.”

CCAP chose election integrity as one of its seven priorities for the year because of the need for clarification and direction for elections.

One big hurdle is the new congressional map that has yet to be finalized.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court, on Wednesday, said it would take over the redistricting lawsuit and decide the new congressional districts after the issue wound through the Legislature and into the court system.

Commonwealth Court Patricia A. McCullough has been appointed as the special master by the courts and will recommend a map, as well as submit a report on her selection, as well as proposed changes to the primary election calendar.

The Supreme Court will hold a hearing on Feb. 18, four days after petitions for candidates were set to open.

This means that congressional candidates may get signatures in one district and then learn that district changed after the congressional map was redrawn, Nothstein said.

Lisa Dart, county elections director, said that the new information the county commissioners received Wednesday afternoon was never sent to election bureaus.

“The Department of State, we haven’t heard from them at all,” Dart said, noting that the last thing bureaus received was from last Friday.