WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — A group of citizens took the second step in an effort to overturn Luzerne County’s newly enacted anti-discrimination ordinance by filing 1,899 voter signatures on Tuesday.
The filing follows the submission of more than 100 signatures last week to establish a petitioner’s committee. The committee is tasked with organizing and coordinating the broader signature collection efforts required to place a repeal referendum question on an upcoming election ballot.
Luzerne County's home rule charter has included a citizen-initiated referendum option since taking effect in 2012, but the process has never been successfully completed. Local officials noted that the mechanism has gone unused due to a combination of steep signature thresholds and tight, time-sensitive deadlines.
To officially qualify the repeal vote for the ballot, the committee must ultimately secure a minimum of 11,615 verified voter signatures. That total represents ten percent of the total votes cast across Luzerne County during the state's last gubernatorial election in 2022.
