Westmoreland voters in some precincts will see changes for June 2 election

Voters in 20 Westmoreland County precincts will see some temporary changes at the polls during the June 2 primary election.

Ten polling places have been combined for the election and 10 others are being moved temporarily because of concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. Four polling places will be moved permanently and two precincts in Murrysville are being split into four.

The county election board on Wednesday authorized the changes. County commissioners said they opted to make a few adjustments rather than consolidating polling places. The changes are a result of state government and health officials ordering social distancing and closures in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Having a larger number of people in a polling place goes against those guidelines, said Commissioner Gina Cerilli.

“We don’t feel consolidating is the answer,” she said.

Pennsylvania’s primary election was moved from April 28 to June 2 because of the pandemic.

Voters can opt to request a mail-in ballot in a program approved by state lawmakers last year. Nearly 38,000 mail-in ballots have been requested by Westmoreland County voters and about 16,000 of them have been returned. There are 239,000 registered voters in the county. The elections bureau must receive applications by May 26 at 5 p.m.

The county has about 300 voting precincts. In Allegheny County, mail-in ballots were being sent to all 770,000 registered voters eligible to participate in the primary. County officials there were seeking to drastically reduce the number of polling places — from about 1,300 to fewer than 200.

Voters at the following Westmoreland precincts will see changes for the June 2 primary:

• Lower Burrell 4-2 (Puckety Presbyterian Church) will be combined with and moved to Lower Burrell 4-1 at Kinloch Fire Department social hall, 915 New York Ave.

• North Huntingdon 1-1 (Westmoreland City Fire Department) will be combined with and moved to North Huntingdon 3-1 at Sunset Valley Elementary School community room, 11605 Dickens Drive.

• North Huntingdon 6-2 (Friendship Baptist Church) will be combined with and moved to North Huntingdon 6-4 at Circleville Fire Department, 129 Robbins Station Road.

• South Huntingdon (Yough Intermediate/Middle School gym) will be combined with and moved to South Huntingdon Wayne at Turkeytown Fire Department, 90 Supervisor Drive.

• West Newton Second Ward (senior center) will be combined with and moved to West Newton First Ward at Christ Lutheran Church, 302 Vine St.

The following polling places will be moved for the June 2 primary:

• Allegheny #5 Bellvue, from the Kiski Area administration building to the gym, 250 Hyde Park Road.

• Derry Scalp Level, from the Alpha Lion’s Den Ministries to the Derry Area High School auxiliary gym, 982 N. Chestnut St.

• East Vandergrift, from the borough building to East Vandergrift Senior Center at 400 McKinley Ave.

• Latrobe 4th Ward, from Freewell Hose Co. to Latrobe Elementary School, 20 Cedar St.

• Ligonier Borough, from town hall to Ligonier Fire Department, 112 N. Fairfield St.

• Lower Burrell 2-2, from Peoples Library to Bethel United Methodist Church, 150 Alder St.

• Mt. Pleasant Spring Garden, from Mt. Pleasant Area field house to Mt. Pleasant Junior High School gym, 271 State St.

• North Huntingdon 5-3, from New Hope Presbyterian Church to Banquets Unlimited, 544 Caruthers Lane.

• Vandergrift 1st Ward, from the library to The Center on Franklin Avenue, 262 Franklin Ave.

• Washington Beamers, from Washington Township Fire Department to Kiski Area Upper Elementary School, 4350 Route 66.

The following moves will be permanent:

• Hempfield New Stanton, from Easy Living Personal Care to United Methodist Church of New Stanton, 612 S. Center Ave.

• Hempfield West Point, from West Point Fire Department to Life Church, 372 Slate Run Road.

• New Kensington 7-1, from Pershing Heights to Valley High School auditorium, 703 Stevenson Blvd.

• Scottdale 1st Ward, from Church of Christ to Scottdale Borough municipal building at 10 Mt. Pleasant Road.

New locations in Murrysville after two precincts were split into four:

• Newlonsburg #1, Murrysville Alliance Church, 4130 Old William Penn Highway.

• Sardis #1, Murrysville Fire Department, 5205 Rocky Hill Lane.