Election category, Page 101
Westmoreland County puts out call for poll workers
Westmoreland officials said Tuesday that dozens of poll workers are needed to staff the county’s 307 voting precincts for the May 18 primary. In all, the county needs 11 judges of elections and as many as 50 poll workers, Election Bureau Director JoAnn Sebastiani said. Judges of elections are needed...
Sean Parnell expected to announce run for Pennsylvania Senate seat
HARRISBURG — Sean Parnell, a decorated Army veteran and regular guest on Fox News programs who became a favorite of former President Donald Trump, is expected to announce his candidacy for the Republican nomination for Pennsylvania’s open U.S. Senate seat. Parnell, who unsuccessfully challenged Democratic U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb in...
Westmoreland officials seek answers for Mt. Pleasant Township ballot error
Westmoreland County elections officials on Monday continued to piece together how the race for a district judge’s seat was excluded from mail-in ballots sent to voters last week in four Mt. Pleasant Township precincts. “It’s my responsibility,” Elections Bureau Director JoAnn Sebastiani said of the oversight that led to 189...
Pittsburgh’s mayoral election features 2 established candidates and 2 novices
Pittsburgh’s mayoral race pits two political insiders, the incumbent and a longtime state representative, against two outsiders, a retired cop and an Ivy League-educated math tutor/ride-hailing driver. Talk of equity and reform unite the men, but each have different approaches to the subject. The May 18 Democratic primary likely decides...
4 seek GOP primary nod for supervisor in Mt. Pleasant Towship
Mt. Pleasant Township voters will be sending a new face to the three-member board of supervisors this fall for the first time in years with the retirement of Jack Rutkowski. Five candidates — four Republicans and one Democrat — are seeking nomination to run for the post and an opportunity...
Incorrect ballots mailed to some Mt. Pleasant voters, Westmoreland County says
Westmoreland County officials acknowledged that more than 190 incorrect mail-in ballots were issued to voters in Mt. Pleasant Township. Ballots issued to voters in four precincts — Ridgeview, Mammoth, United and Westmoreland Homestead — erroneously omitted the race for district judge to replace Michael Mahady, who will retire at the...
4 challengers face 3 incumbents in Greater Latrobe School Board primary
Seven cross-filed candidates are vying for four seats on the Greater Latrobe School Board. Among those seeking nominations in the May 18 primary are incumbents Bill Palmer, Heidi Kozar and Cathy Sarraf. Steven LoCascio is not pursuing a second term. The field of challengers includes Ryan Scarton, Andrew Repko, Tom...
Nearly 120K OK’ed to vote by mail, absentee in Allegheny County; Tuesday marks deadline to apply
Allegheny County elections officials on Friday urged voters who want to vote by mail in the May 18 primary to do so as soon as possible so their applications can be received and processed by Tuesday’s 5 p.m. deadline. The county has approved 118,195 applications from voters seeking early ballots...
Norwin school board candidates emphasize mental health, budget, transparency
School district spending and keeping students safe are among issues raised by the nine candidates seeking nominations for four seats on the Norwin School Board in the May 18 primary. The race features two incumbents, two separate teams of candidates and two candidates running independently of the others. All of...
Hempfield Area School Board primary slate includes 9 candidates
Unlike the 2019 primary, when several Hempfield Area School Board candidates seemingly formed a unified front in a desire to end property tax assessment appeals, the nine candidates hoping to clinch one of the four open seats this year are running for a variety of reasons. The pool is made...
Drop box added at Murrysville location ahead of May 18 primary
Westmoreland County officials say more than 15,400 mail-in ballots have been sent out to voters ahead of the May 18 primary. Another batch of more than 800 ballots is ready to go out, Elections Bureau Director JoAnn Sebastiani said. The deadline to apply for mail-in ballots is May 11. They...
Westmoreland Clerk of Courts candidates tout experience ahead of May primary
Westmoreland’s Clerk of Courts office in 2009 became the first domino to fall in the Republican Party takeover of most county row offices after more than a half-century of Democratic dominance. The office’s leadership is again in the spotlight. In the May 18 primary election, Clerk of Courts is the...
6 GOP candidates will battle for 4 open seats on Murrysville Council
Six Republican candidates, including two incumbents, will contend in May’s primary for a chance at four open Murrysville Council seats in the general election. With no Democratic candidates filed, the winners in next month’s primary are virtually guaranteed a council seat. Jason Lemak, 43, is an electrical engineer who has...
Pa. man admits to voter fraud in casting dead mother’s ballot
MEDIA — A Pennsylvania man who illegally voted for Donald Trump on behalf of his long-dead mother in last year’s presidential election was sentenced Friday to five years of probation. Bruce Bartman, 70, of Marple pleaded guilty Friday to two counts of perjury and one count of unlawful voting. Besides...
Pitcairn mayoral race pits 20-year-old challenger against 81-year-old incumbent
Margaret “Betsy” Stevick’s phone never seems to stop ringing. And the octogenarian mayor of Pitcairn never seems to stop moving. At 81, she’s running for reelection to another four-year term in the May 18 primary. Her opponent in the Democratic primary is 20-year-old Mika Petrosky, who also grew up in...
Mail-in ballot drop box locations approved in Westmoreland County
Editor’s note: This story was updated to correct the hours of operations for the remote drop box locations. Westmoreland County voters will have four, and maybe five, regional ballot drop boxes available for the two weekends prior to the May 18 primary. County commissioners on Tuesday approved drop-box locations at...
Franklin Regional school board primary includes 10 candidates
Unlike the 2019 primary, when the Franklin Regional School District’s Sloan “elementary campus” project dominated much of the election discussion, the 10 candidates seeking open school board seats in 2021 cited a wide variety of reasons for running. They range from emphasizing fiscal responsibility and maintaining the district’s reputation for...
Virginia agrees to absentee ballot option for blind voters
RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia election officials have agreed to permanently provide an absentee ballot option for blind voters. The agreement comes after several voters with disabilities, the American Council of the Blind of Virginia, and the National Federation of the Blind of Virginia filed a lawsuit in federal court last...
Primary ballots could hit Westmoreland mailboxes this weekend
Westmoreland County voters will begin receiving mail-in ballots as early as this weekend, possibly early next week. State officials signed off on the May 18 primary ballots and, on Wednesday, it is expected information will be forwarded to the county’s new private mail company to print and send out ballots...
4 referendums to appear on primary ballots in May; all registered voters eligible
All 8.8 million of Pennsylvania’s registered voters will be able to cast ballots on May 18, when four referendums will appear, including three that seek the change the state’s constitution. The deadline to register to vote in the primary is May 3. Voters will have until 5 p.m. May 11...
Supreme Court rejects lingering Pa. 2020 election challenge case
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday said it will not hear a case out of Pennsylvania related to the 2020 election, a dispute that had lingered while similar election challenges had already been rejected by the justices. The high court directed a lower court to dismiss the case as...
Paul Kengor: Will MLB boycott the Pirates — and the Phillies?
“Georgia has 17 days of in-person early voting, including two optional Sundays. Colorado has 15. … They also have a photo ID requirement. So, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me.” So puzzled Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp over the decision by Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred...
Drop boxes for spring primary under consideration in Westmoreland CountyVideo
Westmoreland commissioners said Wednesday ballot drop boxes likely will be placed in several locations throughout the county prior to the May 18 primary. The total number of boxes, their locations and dates they will operate have yet to be finalized, but plans are expected to be announced in a week...
Westmoreland commissioner says county voters want end to no-excuse mail-in ballots, another disputes that
Drawing criticism from county Democrats, Republican Westmoreland Commissioner Doug Chew on Tuesday told a Pennsylvania Senate committee that his constituents want to eliminate no-excuse mail-in voting. Chew testified before the Senate committee on election integrity and reform that more than 20,000 county residents were potentially disenfranchised during the 2020 presidential...
Primary ballots set for Westmoreland County races
Four of five district judge seats up for grabs in 2021 will have contested primaries in May. Meanwhile, just one countywide race — the Republican primary for the clerk of courts office — will be contested this spring. Barring candidate challenges, the May 18 primary ballots appear set. The deadline...
