McCandless to use 2012 ward map for election because of late change in approval

Voters in McCandless will follow 2012 ward maps for elections this year instead of the new voting districts that were updated in 2023, which have to be reviewed again by the state.

This also is a municipal election year.

“We have reverted our maps online, and we have put these same disclaimers on our maps. So if you look them up, we are on the 2012 maps, which is what is still being recognized by the county. We will not change them or anything until the county has certified that it is correct,” said McCandless Council President Jason Singer at a Feb. 24 meeting.

After the 2020 census count, municipalities such as McCandless began the reapportionment process to review and implement new ward boundaries based on population changes. This is required by the state for areas that are represented by ward members, according to a statement posted Feb. 24 on the township’s website.

As part of this process, McCandless updated the wards and submitted them to Allegheny County in 2023, according to Singer. There are seven wards in McCandless, and each contains three voting districts that are administered by the county elections division.

Allegheny County requested McCandless to prepare maps and exhibits reflecting the updated wards and changes to align voting district boundaries to the ward boundaries, which the county submitted to the state Bureau of Elections. The state has final approval over voting district changes.

Allegheny County notified McCandless offices that the new ward map and voting districts were approved at the Court of Common Pleas in August 2024. Thus, the new ward map and voting district would be completed for the 2025 local elections.

The town was under the impression that the 2023 ward maps, reflecting results of the 2020 census, were approved, and it uploaded the newly revised maps on its online ward lookup tool at townofmccandless.org.

However, when the town administration contacted Allegheny County in January to finalize changes ahead of the 2025 primaries, they were informed that in September the state rejected the petition to update the maps based on some very minor changes. The state then identified minor concerns with voting district boundaries in council wards that had not been changed in the 2023 map, according to Singer.

Ward and voting district boundaries are based on census blocks and are updated each decade.

The census blocks showed these internal voting district boundaries had experienced small alignments after 2020 that had not been considered in the wards that did not require population changes during the reapportionment.

Therefore, the petition by the county to the state Bureau of Elections is not approved. And the town’s new council wards is still pending before the county elections division.

“In summary, the town did their part. The county started to do their part (and) was rejected by the state. It is now back in the county’s hands,” Singer said.

Council noted to always use PA Voter Services to check on the proper polling place immediately before election dates.

“The town will continue to work with the county throughout 2025 to have the council ward and voting district boundary updates implemented in 2026,” Singer said.

May 20 is the date for municipal primary elections and Nov. 4 is Election Day, according to Pennsylvania’s 2025 Municipal Election Calendar.

McCandless Wards 2, 4 and 6 are up for election in 2025, according to McCandless Manager John Schwend.

These currently are represented by council Vice President Robert “Jack” Casey in Ward 2, council President Jason Singer in Ward 4 and Don Hart in Ward 6.