Lack of competitive races led to a low voter turnout locally
Amy Fauth | Herald-Standard
With the presidential nominees locked, election officials went into Tuesday not expecting a high voter turnout.
As of mid-afternoon, their expectations were right on target.
“It’s not anywhere as busy as a presidential primary would normally be if the race had been contested,” said MaryBeth Kuznik, director of the Fayette County Election Bureau.
The bump in voter turnout will likely come when Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican former President Donald Trump battle it out in November .
As of Monday morning, 7,591 mail-in ballots had been sent out and 5,532 returned. However, Kuznik said she expects many more will be turned in at polling locations Tuesday.
The low voter turnout was confirmed Tuesday by state
Republican state Rep. Charity Grimm Krupa, running unopposed on the Republican ticket to retain her seat, was at South Union Township District 1 precinct at Laurel Highlands Middle School Tuesday morning.
Despite picture-perfect weather for the primary, Krupa said, “it’s been slow.”
The precinct’s Judge of Elections Adam Cunningham confirmed that.
“It’s definitely slower than usual even for a primary,” he said. “And, we can’t use weather as an excuse.”
Cunningham reported no issues Tuesday, and said the precinct has taken steps to make voting easier for older voters or those with disabilities by ensuring they have less of a distance to walk to cast a ballot.
“(W)ith new technology we have … we can still properly sign them in, allow them to vote and get their votes counted…making it easier on them,” Cunningham said.
Earlier in the day, Cunningham said, three or four voters with disabilities came to the precinct, and they appreciated the accommodations made for them.
It’s important, he said, that older or disabled voters don’t feel like they can’t vote in person because of the long trek to cast a ballot at the middle school.
“It’s hard for many to do all that walking. We hope that we’ve eliminated that as a barrier,” he said.
Older voters in particular have the most challenges, according to Cunningham. They are also the group that seems to most mistrust mail-in voting, preferring to head to the polls in person, he said.
Mark Baldwin of South Union Township, who came to vote in person Tuesday, counts himself a member of that group. He believes voting in person is the only way to go.
“I always vote in person,” he said. “I feel if you don’t have the wherewithal to get here to vote in person, then your vote shouldn’t count.”
The unofficial results from Tuesday’s primary election were tabulated too late for today’s edition of the Herald-Standard. Election coverage of the primary can be found online at www.heraldstandard.com.