Nearly a dozen polling locations will move for next month’s primary election in Westmoreland County.
The county commissioners met Tuesday as the county’s election board to finalize plans for the May 19 primary.
Despite ongoing lobbying complemented by a rally last week outside the courthouse, no action was taken on calls to install mail-in ballot drop boxes prior to Election Day.
Citizen groups have called on commissioners to reinstate a drop box program operated from 2020 through 2023 in which voters could return mail-in ballots to remote locations throughout the county and outside of the courthouse in Greensburg. Republicans Sean Kertes and Doug Chew have rejected new calls for ballot drop boxes, claiming the issue had become politicized and that past use didn’t justify the costs to install and staff the program.
Meanwhile, starting May 4 through 18, the county’s election bureau on the first floor of the courthouse, 2 N. Main St., Greensburg, will be open to the public from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays. The office will operate from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day.
Commissioners also approved the relocation of 11 of the county’s 306 polling locations.
Election Bureau Director Scott Ross said the changes were prompted after officials learned a building that previously served as an Election Day precinct in East Huntingdon closed. Other issues included concerns over available space at another facility, requests from several building owners to seek alternative accommodations, and an insurance dispute at a church in Vandergrift.
Precincts that will be relocated for the May 19 primary:
Fairfield
Fairfield precinct: From Fairfield Township Municipal Building to Fairfield Township Volunteer Fire Company 1, 5414 Route 711.
East Huntingdon
Ruffs Dale precinct: From Ruffs Dale Elementary School to East Huntingdon Fire Department, 120 Fire Department Road.
Latrobe
1st Ward: From Goodwill Hose Company 1 to Huber Hall, 300 S. Alexandria St.
Ligonier Township
Wilpen: From: Wilpen VFD to Ligonier Camp & Conference — The Joshua House, 188 Macartney Lane.
New Kensington
2nd Ward: From Westmoreland County Community College to Mt. Calvary Missionary Baptist Church, 1150 Fourth Ave.
4-1 Ward: From Westmoreland County Community College to Mt. Calvary Missionary Baptist Church, 1150 Fourth Ave.
Scottdale
4th Ward: From: Scottdale Volunteer Fire Department to St. John the Baptist Church School, 501 S. Broadway.
Vandergrift
3rd Ward: From St. Gertrude Hall to Vandergrift Presbyterian Church, 195 Washington Ave.
4th Ward: From St. Gertrude Hall to Kiski Valley YMCA, 204 S. Pennsylvania Ave.
5th Ward: From St. Gertrude Hall to Kiski Valley YMCA, 204 S. Pennsylvania Ave.
6th Ward: From St. Gertrude Hall to Kiski Valley YMCA, 204 S. Pennsylvania Ave.
