Westmoreland voters submitted 18,000 write-in votes in the May 16 primary, a county official said Tuesday.
The 2023 count for candidates in county, township and borough offices — along with school boards — topped the 12,000 write-in votes that were offered in the November 2022 election, said Greg McCloskey, director of the county Elections Bureau.
McCloskey said he was not aware of any candidate on the ballot losing to a write-in candidate. One write-in managed to collect more votes than a candidate listed on the ballot, although both won a nomination for the November election.
A software program for the voting machines calculated the write-in votes, McCloskey said. The elections board unanimously precertified the results of the primary on Tuesday. The final certification is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. June 5, McCloskey said.
Commissioner Gina Cerilli Thrasher, a Democrat, is not seeking reelection this year and is the lone commissioner on the elections board.
Republican incumbent Commissioners Sean Kertes and Doug Chew, who normally would serve on the board, are running for reelection and were replaced on the board by Common Pleas Judges Tim Krieger and Mike Stewart.
