Looking at local politics by precinct
Countywide elections in Fayette County consist of 80 precincts and are won by candidates one precinct at a time.
Not all precincts throughout the county are created equally, however.
A Herald-Standard examination of each precinct’s number of registered voters and turnout percentage in the most recent primary and general elections indicates which areas of the county might be more engaged at the polls than others today, and which ways certain sections of the county lean politically.
According to official results from the Fayette County Election Bureau, the three precincts with the greatest turnout percentage among registered voters in last year’s general election were Perryopolis, Luzerne Township District 2 (where votes are cast at the municipal building) and Lower Tyrone Township.
The three precincts with the lowest turnout percentage among registered voters in last year’s general election were Uniontown Ward 2 (votes cast at city hall council chambers), Uniontown Ward 4 (votes cast at East End United Community Center) and German Township District 4 (votes cast at Adah Fire Hall).
In last year’s general election, which featured a governor race but no county commissioner race, 39.34 percent of Fayette County’s voters cast a ballot.
Election Bureau Director Larry Blosser said geographical turnout depends on how many races are contested in a given area.
“It all depends on what’s going on, what’s the politics at the time,” Blosser said.
As a result, Blosser predicts high turnout in the South Union Township supervisor race between Democrat Louis “Weeger” Agostini and Jason Scott, who is a Democrat, but secured the Republican nomination in the primary with write-in votes.
“What’s going to bring people out is the (county) commissioner’s race, that South Union race, some magistrate races,” Blosser said. “In Connellsville, the commissioner’s race and the school directors race are what will bring people out. In Bullskin Township, the commissioner’s race, the school directors race, the supervisors race, that’s what will bring people out. Whereas, in Perry Township, you’ve got no competition, the only thing is going to be the commissioner’s race. There’s nothing for supervisors or auditors.”
In May’s primary, Democrat registered voters had a greater turnout percentage than Republican registered voters in 58 of the county’s precincts.
The precincts with the greatest percentage of registered Democrat voters were Brownsville Ward 3 (South Hills Terrace Community Room) Brownsville Ward 1 (Southside Fire Station) and Redstone Township District 4 (Fairbank Rod and Gun Club). The precincts with the greatest percentage of registered Republican voters were Markleysburg, Stewart Township and Henry Clay Township.
“The mountains always have been strong Republican, they have been since I started here (at the election bureau) in 1984,” Blosser said.
County Democratic Party chairman Jim Davis said his view of the Fayette County political landscape isn’t geographically oriented.
“There is no place in this county that we don’t need to work,” Davis said. “There is no place we can take for granted.”
County Republican Party chairman David Show could not be reached for comment.
But Davis doesn’t agree with the notion that there is a stereotypical towns versus mountains political divide among respective Democratic and Republican party lines in Fayette County.
“There was a time when a city was Democrat and its suburbs were Republican,” Davis said. “We’ve seen that dynamic changing. Look out Montgomery County outside of Philadelphia. It was historically Republican, now it’s leaned toward Democrats in recent years.”
“Uniontown used to be Republican and was Republican for years,” Blosser said. “Gradually, it shifted.”
Show, for his part, has increased local Republican participation by encouraging a greater number of conservative candidates to run for row office openings and other political positions throughout the county.
Turnout remains an issue for both sides, however, with 37 of 81 precincts failing to turn out at least 40 percent of voters in last year’s general election. The county combined one precinct before today’s election, now leaving the county with 80 polling places.
The East End United Community Center hosts Election Day voting for Uniontown Ward 4, whose second-lowest turnout percentage in this year’s primary could be troubling for Democrats since the ward had the greatest percentage of registered Democrat voters casting a ballot among voters from both parties among all precincts.
A recent “Meet the Candidate Night” at the center attracted around 100 people, said center Executive Director Matthew Crutchman, who organized the event to foster interest in the local electoral process.
“I tell people around here, ‘You should vote,'” Crutchman said. “‘Those are the people that made your policies.'”
“Why do most people recognize the importance of voting and yet they don’t vote?” Davis said. “Why they have a wonderful and free nation is because they vote. We have to keep reminding each other of that.”