Murrysville political committees look to iron out new-precinct wrinkles

It’s probably a good thing that Pennsylvania lawmakers delayed the state’s primary election until June 2, because it may take that long for Murrysville voters in the newly split Sardis and Newlonsburg precincts to figure out where they’re supposed to cast their ballots.

“It’s been a real bear,” Murrysville Export Republican Committee member Vince Esposito said of the effort to split two of Westmoreland County’s largest voting precincts.

The Sardis and Newlonsburg precincts have resulted in lengthy lines and an hours-long wait to vote in both the 2016 general and 2018 midterm elections.

Members of the Republican committee along with the Murrysville Export Democratic Committee worked with county election officials to develop the new precincts and maps.

A Tribune-Review analysis after the 2018 midterms showed that about 15% of Westmoreland County precincts exceed the state’s recommended precinct size. Very few though, approached the level of the Newlonsburg and Sardis precincts.

The Newlonsburg precinct has been split, with roughly 1,500 voters assigned to vote at the Newlonsburg Presbyterian Church and 1,654 voters moved to Murrysville Alliance Church.

The Sardis precinct will be similarly split into chunks of about 1,600 and 1,800 voters, with Christ’s Lutheran Church and Sardis Volunteer Fire Company serving as the locations.

Committee member Maury Fey said he wishes the new precincts had been given different names other than “Newlonsburg 2” and “Sardis 2.”

“Moving it to June is going to help,” Fey said. “But we could have this election in September and there’d still be a lot of confusion.”

In addition to the newly numbered precincts, several roads also cross between precincts. For example, Cline Hollow Road, Hills Church Road, Newlonsburg Drive and School Road addresses show up in both of the Newlonsburg precincts.

The Westmoreland County Bureau of Elections sent voters a letter outlining which precinct they are in, but it hasn’t always had the desired result: Fey said a neighbor saw the “Newlonsburg” label on her letter and presumed it meant she would be voting at the previous location.

“I’m sure it’s going to cause a heck of a lot of confusion,” Fey said. “We’re planning to have people outside the polling places to look at people’s information, and we’ll have street maps to look at.”

Voters can double check their current voting precinct by visiting the elections bureau’s website at Co.Westmoreland.pa.us and clicking on “Elections” under the “Government” tab.