It’s Primary Day in Pennsylvania.
Among voters’ options on this year’s ballot will be candidates for president, the U.S. Senate, and the state’s attorney general.
Despite it being a presidential election year, local officials say they expect low voter turnout. That could be due to the fact that both of the major parties’ candidates already have enough pledged delegates to secure their nominations.
“We should be looking at turnout as enthusiasm,” says Alison Dagnes, a political science professor at Shippensburg University in central Pennsylvania. “And there is not a lot of enthusiasm for this election.”
For more information on polling places, go to the official election pages for your county:
• Allegheny County election page
• Westmoreland County election page
• Armstrong County election page
Judge of elections, poll watcher clash in Jeanette
Westmoreland County elections officials were forced to intervene in a dispute between a judge of elections and a poll watcher Tuesday morning at a Jeannette voting precinct.
Elections Bureau Director Greg McCloskey said the flap involved a decision from the local judge assigned to the Senaca Heights Community Center on Westmoreland Avenue who refused entry of a registered poll watcher as staff set up the precinct before the voting location opened to voters at 7 a.m.
“He was allowed to be there. I had to go out there to let the judge know,” McCloskey said.
Officials confirmed that voter turnout appeared light through the afternoon with few issues at the polls. The county expected to have all of the nearly 23,000 mail-in ballots returned by voters counted when the polls close at 8 p.m.
McCloskey reported one equipment failure, a scanning device malfunction at the Monessen precinct located at the city’s public works garage on Parente Boulevard.
The machine, which records completed printed ballots cast on touch-screen voting machines, failed and had to be replaced.
Ballots cast by nine voters were placed in a sealed portion of the device until technicians replaced the machine. Those ballots were then successfully scanned and will be tallied with the other votes at the precinct when the polls close, McCloskey said.
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‘Grocery prices are through the ceiling’
At Maplewood United Presbyterian Church in Hempfield, turnout was slow. Only around 60 people had voted by 1 p.m., according to poll workers.
Among those who turned out to vote, many were motivated by the importance of doing their civic duty.
“I always vote. No sense complaining if you’re not voting,” said Connie Peluso, who voted in the Republican primary. She recently switched parties from Democrat to Republican, she said, because she felt that Democrats were out of touch with working people.
The economy is one of her biggest priorities, Peluso said.
“Grocery prices are through the ceiling, gas is through the ceiling,” she said.
Bill Lewis described voting as his obligation, duty, and privilege. In the Democratic primary, he was most interested in voting for senator and state auditor general, but he’s already looking ahead to the November general election.
“I hope my vote swings it to our side,” he said.
At the Hempfield Township Athletic Complex, Hempfield resident Jerry Petrill said he was motivated to vote by the state of the country. He was interested in the management of the border and inflation.
“It seems like since covid, everything’s just not the same,” he said. “I hope my vote counts.”
Keith Altschaffl said he tries to impress on his kids how important it is to weigh in in elections. They are in middle school and can’t yet vote,
“I just think it’s an important part of the process to vote regularly,” he said.
Voting picking up in Highland Park
Voting at Dilworth Elementary School on Stanton Avenue in Highland Park has really picked up heading into lunchtime, according to volunteers outside of the location.
Kieth Collins has been outside the polling place since 6:30 a.m. Tuesday morning volunteering for U.S. Rep Summer Lee’s campaign by passing out literature to voters entering the building. Lee, D-Swissvale, is running for re-election and is pitted in the primary against Edgewood Councilwoman Bhavini Patel.
Collins, 23, of Stanton Heights, said about half of the voters have taken Lee’s literature from him.
Other voters just didn’t speak to him at all, he said, as they had already decided who they were voting for.
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It was Collins’ first time canvassing, and he said he’s been enjoying the process.
“I like it a lot more than I thought,” he said.
Collins, who is a barista and dining room assistant at Eleven, said that he is a single-issue voter this year — a ceasefire in Gaza is the deciding factor for him. Lee is a candidate who has been vocal about the issue, he said.
“She’s one of the few in support,” he said. “If she hadn’t been calling for a ceasefire, I wouldn’t be here.”
President Joe Biden won’t receive his vote on Tuesday or in November, Collins said,
Other issues Collins is passionate about are accessible health care and raising the minimum wage.
“Things that will not benefit the top 1%,” he said.
Since Collins turned 18, he’s voted in every election he’s been able to.
Slow in Harrison
Turnout at Hilltop Hose polling place in Harrison was slow.
Judge of Elections for Harrison’s Ward 1, District 3 Betty Scimeca reported 36 in person voters at the site as of 1:30 pm. There were about 55 mail in ballots recorded.
“It’s a little bit slower,” Scimeca said. “Primaries are always slow, but it’s a little bit less.”
The scene in Washington Township
Turnout at Washington Township’s fire hall was low, said judge of elections Keith Lewis.
At about 11:45 a.m., there were about 131 voters.
“I don’t think it’s been good,” Lewis said. “We have 1,898 in this district.”
Jill Cooper, an incumbent Republican candidate for state rep, greeted voters outside of the fire hall. Her primary challenger, Jamie Lingg, greeted voters at a Murrysville precinct. A Democratic write-in candidate, Davon Magwood, made rounds at New Kensington’s Queen of Apostles precinct Tuesday afternoon.
“Washington Township is one of the larger districts,” Cooper said. “Great folks live here, it’s great to see them.”
He never missed an election
Frank Lemon of New Kensington turned 18 in 1971. He has since never missed an election.
He cast his ballot Tuesday morning at Mary Queen of Apostles in New Kensington.
While no issue or candidate necessarily brought him out to vote, he did so to “keep America moving forward.”
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“Voting is a right guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States … we’re the greatest nation in the world, we need to keep it that way.”
Voting encouragement in Morningside
At the Morningside Senior Center, John Vivio has been sitting outside encouraging locals to vote.
He doesn’t work for any campaigns. He just shows up at the polls.
A self-proclaimed die-hard Democrat, Vivio, 65, of Bloomfield, lived in Morningside for 15 years and knows a lot of the residents coming to vote.
“I just keep coming back to the same spot,” he said. “Turnout has been pretty good here.”
There’s been a steady, slow trickle of people coming to the Morningside Senior Center to vote, Vivio. He said per usual, there will be more after 2 p.m. when they start to get out of work.
Sporting an “I Voted” sticker himself, Vivio said he hasn’t always voted in the primary elections — he started in the last decade to fulfill his civic duty.
Lower Burrell is low turnout
Voter turnout at Lower Burrell’s Church of God precinct was the lowest it’s been in the 15 years Jim Watson has been judge of elections.
“We had four voters in the first hour,” Watson said. “We usually have 50 in the first hour.”
At about 10:30 Tuesday, the precinct had recorded 60 voters.
Voter John Hanna said no one issue or candidate brought him out, but he still wanted to exercise his civic duty.
“I felt it’s important to be a voting citizen and exercise my right to vote,” he said.
‘Get your voice heard’
About 20 people came out to vote at Community United Methodist Church in Penn Township by 9 a.m. Tuesday, according to poll worker Jolene Sunseri.
Sunseri, of Penn Township, volunteered for the 2020 general election and the 2023 local elections. Voters turn out to the church in large numbers for general elections, with lines sometimes wrapping around the building.
Primary elections do not typically generate as much activity, she said.
Nonetheless, Sunseri values her role as a poll worker.
“I just feel like, for my generation, people don’t really come out to help,” she said.
Doris Couchenour, 83, of Greensburg, has never missed an opportunity to vote.
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“I just think it’s important to get your voice heard, basically,” said Couchenour, who voted at Kirk S. Nevin Arena in Greensburg Tuesday morning. “If you don’t vote, you can’t complain.”
Fairly quiet in eastern suburbs
Voting precincts were largely quiet along the Allegheny/Westmoreland County border early on Tuesday morning.
At the Holiday Park Church of Christ in Plum, no one was even outside handing out campaign literature around 9 a.m.
A little farther east, a group handing out fliers at the Sardis Volunteer Fire Company in Murrysville said the day was starting out slow.
“It’s been quiet, but this is around the time things start to pick up,” said Lynn Obelcz, who was handing out fliers along with her daughter Emily Theis.
At Faith Global Methodist Church, a poll observer said that while the precinct hadn’t been busy, there was a steady stream of voters arriving by 9:30 a.m.
Poll watching
As a poll watcher for Democrat Ashley Comans’ state House campaign, Khadija Djellouli said she only noticed around six voters in the first hour of voting at St. Paul Baptist Church in Point Breeze.
She heard from poll workers that the location is mainly one where people send mail-in ballots rather than come in person.
Djellouli, 30, of Beechview, said she will be voting at her home polling location in Beechview after her poll watching shift is over.
“I think there’s a lot that’s important to me in this election,” she said. “I think it’s important the voters — everybody — gets a say in who represents them,” she said.
Slow morning in Forest Hills
At Hope Lutheran Church in Forest Hills, only 19 people had voted by 9 a.m.
One person stood out front, handing out literature for candidates.
Plain turnout in Plum
When polling places opened at 7 a.m. Tuesday, turnout was sparse.
At first blush, the voting precincts at Plum High School appeared to be packed as the parking lots were filled. But that was because for the first time in at least several years, teachers reported to the building for an in-service day while students had the day off.
At the two voting precincts themselves, all was quiet.
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At the Plum 19 precinct, only seven voters had cast ballots by 7:45 a.m.
Voting in person once again
Varnell Lewis came out to vote Tuesday morning at the St. Paul Baptist Church on Penn Avenue, Point Breeze. He returned in person this year, after having utilized mail-in ballots the past several elections.
He decided he wants to vote in person from now on, as he lives nearby on Linden Avenue. “My body’s been breaking down, so it’s hard for me to walk around,” said Lewis, 76, of Pittsburgh. “It’s very important to vote. It’s something that everybody needs to do.”
Lewis said people gripe and complain all they want when things go wrong in the country, “but if you don’t vote, you might as well just shut up.”
Lewis, who did not divulge who he voted for, said he believes some political candidates aren’t running for the country as much as for themselves. “This country is in turmoil now; we might lose democracy,” he said. “Get (those kinds of candidates) out of here … see if we can get democracy back to where it should be.”
A proponent of women’s reproductive rights, Lewis said he’s hoping women in the United States step up — with both their voices and in leadership roles. “It’s up to that person,” he said of women. “Everybody has a different story, and you have to respect that person’s story because you’re not wearing their shoes.”
Lewis has been following Trump’s trial on and off, as he said he’s leery of the situation, adding that the average person would’ve been put in jail already.
“It’s not fair,” Lewis said. “We’re paying you; you’re not paying us. … You’re supposed to represent the country — not just yourself.”
Important issues
Sarah Hampton showed up St. Paul Baptist Church on Tuesday morning with one main goal in mind: vote “uncommitted” for incumbent Joe Biden.
“I wanted to make it very clear I don’t support what Biden’s been doing,” said the 26-year-old Pittsburgh resident, who is as a public defender for Allegheny County.
Although she’s voted in primaries before, this is one of the first elections she’s been able to vote in where there’s been a movement she has understood.
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The Uncommitted PA campaign is an issue that Hampton said is important to her. The statewide effort encourages Democratic voters to write in “uncommitted” in the presidential slot to pressure Biden into calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza. The campaign is hoping to get more than 40,000 uncommitted write-in votes and send a signal that the Biden administration is losing the voters it needs to win the November election.
“(I) voted for Biden last time, and that was a fairly easy decision to make,” she said. “It’s really hard for me to stomach doing it again.”
As the General Election approaches this fall, Hampton said her vote will depend on whether there’s any kind of reaction from Biden and his administration to the uncommitted votes.
“It’s the first time my conscience has really been shocked, so to speak, by what’s been going on,” she said. “I spent my undergrad and graduate law degree in human rights and human rights law and international rights — and they’ve just been violated across the board.”
Immigration policy is another important issue for Hampton. “(Biden’s) backed out on a lot of promises he’s made and made things a lot worse for a lot of people,” she said.
Hampton said she also voted for U.S. Rep. Summer Lee.
“Pittsburgh does a good job of making things accessible,” Hampton said about the city’s dissemination of voting information to residents.
As for the Donald Trump trial, she said she hasn’t been following it much. “I get a little lawyered out about it — it stresses me out,” she said.
Allegheny County details
Allegheny County spokeswoman Abigail Gardner reported that polls opened at 7 a.m. at 1,327 precincts in Allegheny County.
There was a single, isolated incident at McKees Rocks 1-2 that delayed the opening of voting at the borough’s Council Chambers Building, Gardner said. The issue has been corrected and the location is open.
Otherwise, there have no reported incidents of delays in polling place openings.
Sixty-two polling places have changed since the last election in November. All affected households received a notification in the mail last week of their new polling place.
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Posters have been placed all previous polling places with addresses to direct people to the new location.
Gardner said Allegheny County staffers are in the process of pre-canvassing vote-by-mail ballots. Declaration envelopes have been checked and opened, she said, and all secrecy envelopes have been removed. Ballot extraction has begun.
Voters are reminded they can check their polling place at the state website before they vote: Using Pennsylvania’s online tool to find their polling place by entering their address.
Polls will remain open until 8 p.m. Anyone in line at 8 p.m. will be allowed to vote.
Staff writers Julia Maruca and Quincey Reese contributed to this report.