Local voter turnout was nearly 29 percent

Keith Gushard, The Meadville Tribune, Pa.
·2 min read
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Apr. 25—Overall voter turnout for Tuesday's primary election was just under 29 percent in Crawford County with few races among Democratic and Republican candidates.

"We had no issues — nothing," Scott Schell, chairman of the Crawford County Board of Elections, said Wednesday regarding any Election Day problems at any of the county's 61 precincts.

Schell's comments came during a break of adjudication of ballots containing write-in votes from Tuesday's election. The Board of Elections must adjudicate, or review, any ballot containing a write-in to determine voter intent.

The board began and completed adjudication Wednesday of all write-in votes on ballots that were cast in-person at precincts on Tuesday. Adjudication of mail-in and absentee ballots will begin today.

According to unofficial results Wednesday from the Crawford County Office of Election and Voter Services, overall voter turnout was 28.85 percent with a combined 12,707 registered Democrats and Republicans out of 44,050 total registered voters casting ballots.

Turnout among registered Democratic Party voters was higher at 30.93 percent with 4,454 out of 14,402 registered Democrats in the county casting ballots.

Among registered Republican Party voters in the county, turnout was lower, but the total number of voters was higher. Republicans in the county voting Tuesday was 27.56 percent with 8,253 out of 29,948 registered Republicans voting, according to the unofficial results.

There were more contested primary races on the Democratic Party primary ballot, as Democrats had races among statewide offices of attorney general, auditor general and treasurer.

The primary races for the three seats to represent Crawford County in the Pennsylvania's General Assembly were unopposed on Election Day and only one may lead to contested races in November.

In the 6th District, with 36 of 36 precincts reporting, GOP incumbent Rep. Brad Roae received 5,011 votes in Crawford County and will face Democratic challenger Michael Walker, who received 3,060 votes in the county. Write-in votes came in at 23 for Democrats and 81 for Republicans.

In the 64th District, with nine of nine precincts reporting, R. Lee James, the Republican incumbent, received 935 votes in Crawford County against three write-ins. There was no Democrat on the ballot seeking that party's nomination.

In the 65th District, with 16 of 16 precincts reporting, Kathy Rapp, the Republican incumbent, got 1,679 votes in the county against 15 write-ins. There was no Democrat on the ballot seeking that party's nomination.

All results reported are unofficial and totals may change over coming days as election officials finalize results.

Keith Gushard can be reached at (814) 724-6370 or by email at kgushard@meadvilletribune.com.