Election Day updates: Judge bars group claiming to be poll security

Election Day is upon us. Today, voters in Pennsylvania and across the country will head to polls to decide races for governor, Senate, members of the House and seats in state legislatures. The Tribune-Review will update this file throughout the day.

Order issued against ‘commission security’

The Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas today barred a group of residents who billed themselves as “commission security” from entering any polling location in the county. County spokeswoman Amie Downs said the people were going to polling places earlier today indicating they were poll security

Three individuals were named as members of what they called “The Commission Security:” Darnell Tate, Charles E. Pond and Tavion Montgomery Laban. The court order said these individuals might be traveling or working with other people, who they named only as John and Jane Doe.

The court order specifically banned the group from “traveling to or entering any polling place within Allegheny County” and from “interfering with the operations and functioning of any polling place or any local board of elections.”

The order, issued earlier today, was signed by Common Pleas Judge John T. McVay.

Mail-in votes

As of 4 p.m., 130,000 mail-in ballots had been scanned, Downs said.

“This morning’s mail is being processed,” she said. “It included one ballot without signature and two that were incorrectly dated. Those have been set aside and will not be counted. So far today, 60 voters have come into the Elections Division to cure their undated or incorrectly dated ballots.”

Electioneering complaints made against local GOP official, judge of elections

A local Republican official from Upper St. Clair and a judge of elections in North Fayette have been accused of electioneering inside polling places.

An Allegheny County judge barred Upper St. Clair Republican Committee Chair Andrew Baldasare from entering any Allegheny County polling place and engaging in “unlawful electioneering” or interfering with operations and functions at any polling place or local board of elections in the county.

Cliff Levine, a local election lawyer who regularly works with Democrats, said the cease-and-desist order came after complaints were made accusing Baldasare of politicking too close to and inside polling locations.

Additionally, a voter in North Fayette said a judge of elections at her precinct praised GOP congressional candidate Jeremy Shaffer before she cast her ballot on Tuesday afternoon.

Karen Kirk-Mayo, 55, said while signing in to vote at her polling place for North Fayette District 4 at the North Fayette Community Center, a judge of elections repeatedly praised Shaffer, who was standing outside the community center and handing out campaign literature.

Candidates and advocates are allowed to advocate for candidates outside of polling places, as long as it is more than 10 feet from the door, according to election law.

Kirk-Mayo said the judge of elections made her uncomfortable. Judges of elections are elected officials who run polling places on Election Day. She said the judge spoke highly of Shaffer’s family and said he would make a great congressman.

“I have been voting since I was 18, and I was shocked,” Kirk-Mayo said.

Levine said judges of elections are barred from politicking inside polling places.

“Judges of elections serve a neutral position and are not there to advocate for any political candidate,” Levine said.

Democrat Chris Deluzio is running against Shaffer in Pennsylvania’s 17th Congressional District, which includes Beaver County and many Allegheny County suburbs, including North Fayette.

The Deluzio campaign criticized Republicans for trying to sway voters under what he called illicit circumstances.

“Election officials and poll workers should not be trying to influence voters at the polls,” said Matthew Koos of the Deluzio campaign. “Republicans need to knock it off.”

When reached, Shaffer’s campaign said the judge of election has no connection with their campaign.

High turnout in Murrysville and Delmont

At the Christ’s Lutheran Church precinct in Murrysville, poll workers said turnout had been steady throughout the day.

“Right now we’re at 642 voters, which I think is pretty good,” said judge of elections Sean Dryer shortly before 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday. “We have about 1,500 voters in the precinct and right now we’re on track to hit about 60% turnout.”

The figures were similarly encouraging for Beth Woyt, judge of elections at the Faith United Methodist Church precinct in Delmont, home to about 2,300 voters.

Woyt said they had passed 750 votes around 3:30 p.m.

“Usually we have this kind of turnout for a presidential election, so this is great to see,” Woyt said.

Bill Grassel of Delmont was handing out Republican slate cards on Tuesday afternoon, on his second volunteer shift after working the polls for five hours in the morning.

“I’m just trying to make something good hapen for the country,” Grassel said.

‘We need choice’

When Judge of Elections Rick DeMoss opened voting precinct 32 at Trinity United Christian Church in Lower Burrell, he had 15 voters already at the door. It’s an above average election turnout, he said. Poll worker Terry DeMoss said she was happy to see so many young voters.

Pauline Dishler, 78, came out to vote for women’s rights. “We need choice,” she said.

Another voter, Ted Cherok, 65, said, “ I don’t trust this country.” A longtime Democrat who is now an independent, Cherok Said he voted for three Republicans and one Democrat.

“ I don’t think those people in Washington care about us,” he said. “They only care about making a buck.”

A retired worker from U.S. Steel, Cherok said his family of World War II vets were part of the great generation. “Today, we now have the worst generation,” he said.

‘One of the busiest mornings’

A steady stream of voters visited the McKenna Center senior center in Greensburg Tuesday, to cast their ballots in the city’s Precinct 2-4.

“When I opened the door at 7, there was a line in the parking lot,” said John Stafford, judge of elections. “Within less than an hour and a half, we already had 100 voters, which was probably one of the busiest mornings we’ve had.”

Democrat Lynne Roberts arrived to vote later, with reproductive rights high on her list of priorities.

“I voted along my party line because they stood where I stood,” she said.

She said the political ads appearing on TV in recent weeks didn’t influence her decision. “They were all crazy,” she said of the ads. “I just did my own research.”

Steve Simon, a Democrat, and his wife, Pat, a conservative Republican, also voted at the senior center.

“A lot of people are just voting straight Republican because we need that change,” Pat Simon said.

A nurse, she said she voted for Dr. Mehmet Oz, a surgeon and Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate.

“I spend a lot of time watching TV and reading things that are important to me,” she said. “He impresses me as somebody who does know what he’s talking about.”

“I always vote for the candidate, I don’t vote for the party,” said Steve Simon. “In the case today, it happened to be for Republicans.

“The regime that’s in there, the whole way down the line, has made this country terrible, as far as I’m concerned.”

He said he may finally give in to his wife’s urging to choose her affiliation because he believes his own party has become “too left wing.

“I’ll probably switch If they put the same type of candidates up again.”

Who’s counting votes in Allegheny County?

County spokeswoman Amie Downs said the practice of county employees helping out during elections isn’t new. One prominent doctor is denouncing that move. Read the full story here.

Brisk turnout in Greensburg

Voting was brisker than usual Tuesday at Greensburg’s YMCA armory building.

According to Shannon Meyers, judge of elections for the city’s Precinct 1-1, more than 180 people had voted by about 11:30 a.m. In other elections, the 100-vote mark hasn’t been passed before noon, she said.

Rhyne Gamble, a Bolivar native, and his wife, Tonya, originally from Kansas City, were among those who headed to the Greensburg polling place. Both expressed frustration that their votes this time were for Republican candidates that they didn’t like but objected to less strongly than they did to the Democratic opponents.

“I voted for people who I thought were extreme but were better than the other extremity,” Rhyne Gamble said.

He said he believes natural gas production is crucial to Pennsylvania’s economy and fears a Democratic governor would not support the industry. He indicated Democratic candidate John Fetterman’s speech difficulties following a May stroke helped rule him out as his choice for U.S. senator.

“I totally buy into the climate issue,” Gamble said. “We’re in a bad situation as a planet. But we should be producing (natural gas) here until we have an alternative.”

Tonya Gamble voted for Oz in the U.S. Senate race, but added, “I think he’s kind of fake. He’ll just say whatever he needs to say to get someone’s attention. I really don’t think he has a lot of experience.

“I almost didn’t vote.”

Hugh Hubble, a retired nurse and Vietnam veteran, cast his ballot at the armory building. Registered as an independent voter, he said, “I have never voted a straight (party) ticket.”

A convert to Catholicism, he expressed a personal objection to abortions but said candidate qualifications played an important role in his selections.

“The governor issue, I thought, was more of a matter of qualifications,” he said. “I just felt one candidate was more qualified than the other, and I voted for him.”

Bon Air checks in

The Bon Air neighborhood of Pittsburgh tends to lean Democratic, and 71-year-old Debra Davis personified that on Tuesday. After casting her ballot in the morning Davis told the Tribune-Review that she voted for Fetterman for U.S. Senate, Josh Shapiro for governor and Summer Lee for the U.S. House.

“I feel like they have a good basis for everything,” Davis said. “I feel that Fetterman is out for the betterment of Pennsylvania and Josh Shapiro also, of course. I like their platforms and I like everything they stand for.”

Across Pennsylvania, a large voter turnout is expected, but Davis said she’s no more enthusiastic for this election than she is for any other.

“I want to have my voice heard in one way or another,” she said.

‘Bunch of kids fighting’

At the First United Presbyterian Church of Tarentum, volunteers offered free cookies to voters; turnout was nearly twice of what it was last midterm election, according to Judge of Elections Cynthia Kramer.

Kathleen Basar of Tarentum votes regularly. She was irked by the negative political ads and candidates.

“I don’t know what each candidate wants to do except not like the other one,” she said. “This has been the most despicable election I have seen in 40 years.”

Joe Myers, 57, of Tarentum, also votes regularly. He said he wanted to vote against Oz in the U.S. Senate race.

“I didn’t want Pennsylvania being called ‘Oz Land,” he said

Myers said that he hated the behavior of the candidates. “It’s like a bunch of kids fighting over candy.“

Some came out to see change, or prevent it. Douglas Lash, 62, is concerned about how abortion rights and the LGBTQ community will fare. “

“They will suffer if we get certain people win,” he said.

2 steelworkers, 2 political parties and a handshake

Two retired steelworkers from different political parties stopped to chat after voting Tuesday.

Harrison residents and friends William Katora, a registered Republican, shook hands with Tom Kulikowski outside Harrison Hills VFC # 169 as the men, both in their 60s, discussed golf, and politics.

Both men agreed crime was a key issue in this year’s midterm elections.

“I’m a devout Republican and I vote on policy. I believe in democracy and guns,” said Katora, adding he his switched political party from Democratic to Republican in 1980.

Kulikowski said he used to mix his voting ticket, but he hasn’t done that during the last two election cycles.

“I don’t like the way the Republican party is going. It seems they’re catering to lobbyists,” Kulikowski said.

Reports of politicking

Allegheny County has received “a few reports” of people politicking at the polls, according to a county spokesperson.

One individual was found today inside a polling place, county spokesperson Amie Downs said. A polling place coordinator was dispatched to address the matter.

A second person politicking outside a polling place stopped a voter to ask their name and address, Downs said. The person was not blocking the entrance and were more than 10 feet away from the polling place — making it permitted — but voters do not need to stop or interact with the person.

Crossing party lines

Rebecca Cappo of Allegheny Township is a registered Republican, but said Tuesday she couldn’t vote for her party’s gubernatorial candidate. She chose Josh Shapiro over Doug Mastriano.

“The Republican candidate was just too extreme on abortion issues and with the election denial,” Cappo said of Mastriano.

Cappo, 65, said she found the onslaught of political ads to be “disheartening.” She wished all of the candidates would have presented solutions, instead of attack ads.

Cappo said inflation was another issue that led her to the polls.

“I feel bad for the people—the economy, high gas and grocery prices. I’m voting for our future,” Cappo said.

Allegheny Township registered Republican voter Rebecca Cappo, crossed party lines to vote for Josh Shapiro Tuesday morning in the Pennsylvania race for governor. “The Republican candidate was too extreme for me,” she said of her decision. ⁦@VNDNews⁩ ⁦@TribLIVE⁩ pic.twitter.com/0qdhjHgp3Z

— Joyce Hanz (@hanz_joyce) November 8, 2022

Polling place issues

Some polling locations in Allegheny County opened late Tuesday morning because of issues with buildings not being unlocked and reports of judges not showing up to work, according to Amie Downs, communications director for Allegheny County.

Downs said all issues were resolved before 8 a.m., with additional workers deployed to locations with delays.

She said the county received one report of scanners not working in one location. However, by the time officials arrived on site, she said all scanners were functional. Ballots cast during that time were secured in a locked box in the scanner and will be opened and scanned by the judge when the opportunity arises. That will happen, Downs said, before polls close.

Downs also reported one polling location was “waiting for the county to deliver materials.” She said the judge in this instance failed to pick up materials for the polling place, as they are required. Downs said a county employee was dispatched Tuesday morning to deliver all materials.

At the Elections Warehouse in Pittsburgh’s North Side, Downs said the review of declaration envelopes had been completed and employees began opening envelopes and extracting the secrecy envelope around 8 a.m.

She said several authorized campaign representatives were at the warehouse. Those included reps from the following candidates: Oz, Fetterman, Mastriano and Emily Kinkead. A representative from the Republican Committee also was present.

Voter: It’s the economy

Joseph Cremonese of Hempfield is normally an early morning voter. Tuesday was no exception as he pulled up to the polling place at Maplewood United Presbyterian Church in Hempfield a few minutes after 7 a.m.

The big issue for Cremonese is the one that is on the mind of many voters.

“The whole economy,” said Cremonese, a registered Republican who joked that he is a minority in that regard in his family.

When it’s over

Pennsylvania’s four living former governors sent a letter to the main party candidates urging them to respect and accept the results of the election regardless of the outcome.

Here’s the full story.

Who are the crossover voters?

With Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race between Democrat John Fetterman and Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz remaining razor close heading into Election Day, the campaigns are looking for votes wherever they can find them.

And that includes ones from voters in opposing political parties.

Here’s the story.

Abortion issue

Casie Mundt of Leechburg voted swiftly Monday morning because there were no lines at a Leechburg polling location.

Mundt said she always votes. The abortion issue, for her, was the deciding factor on her decision to vote for Republican candidates.

Additionally, Mundt said her family of four live paycheck to paycheck and her monthly grocery bills have more than doubled.

“It’s ridiculous. I have two teenage daughters to feed. I shop at Aldi’s and Dollar General and my grocery bill is $135 or more a week. I used to spend $200 a month on food,” Mundt said.

Casie Mundt, 41, of Leechburg chimes in on the specific political issue that impacted her voting decision today. ⁦@VNDNews⁩ ⁦@TribLIVE⁩ pic.twitter.com/2tgKP8Ym3h

— Joyce Hanz (@hanz_joyce) November 8, 2022

Senate candidates cast ballots

The U.S. Senate candidates — John Fetterman and Dr. Mehmet Oz — cast their ballots Tuesday morning.

Fetterman cast his vote, along with his wife, Gisele, at the New Hope Baptist Church/MultiCenter in Braddock. Reporters had gathered outside the polling station as the Fettermans walked inside. They did not answer questions from the media.

His opponent Dr. Mehmet Oz voted in Montgomery County. Tribune-Review news partner WPXI reports that Oz didn’t say much but urged people to “go vote” and that he’s proud of his campaign.

DECISION 2022: US Senate candidates Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz and Democrat Lt. Gov. John Fetterman have both cast their votes. #ElectionDay #Pennsylvania pic.twitter.com/r1kMup8lfL

— WPXI (@WPXI) November 8, 2022

Check validity of mail-in ballots

Allegheny County officials reported Monday that over 1,000 Allegheny County voters must cure their mail-in ballots or their votes won’t be counted. By Monday evening, 106 voters had cured their ballots.

The county has released a list of voters whose ballots were either incorrectly dated or did not include a date. The list was published after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court unanimously ruled Nov. 1 that state officials cannot count votes from mail-in or absentee ballots that lack accurate, handwritten dates on their return envelopes.

Impacted voters can cure their ballots by heading to the elections division office in Downtown Pittsburgh on Monday or Tuesday, authorizing a designated agent to cure the ballot at the office or voting provisionally at their regular polling place.

The list of impacted voters can be found on the county’s website.

7 a.m., Polls are open

Polls opened at 7 a.m. and remain open until 8 pm. Anyone in line at 8 p.m. will be allowed to vote.

We’ve compiled all our coverage here to make it easy to catch up and get information on the races that impact Western Pennsylvania. Here is our election guide.

Staff writers Joyce Hanz, Joe Napsha, Mary Ann Thomas, Patrick Varine, Jeff Himler, Justin Vellucci, Ryan Deto and Paul Guggenheimer contributed to this report.