Voters trickle in to polling places in Washington, Greene and Fayette counties
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Nathan Smalara casts his ballot at Magic Moments in Carmichaels Tuesday afternoon.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Mark Avery, Marge Doriguzzi and judge of elections Siegrid Nemal worked the polls at Tri County Joint Municipal Authority in Fredericktown Tuesday, where voter turnout was lower than expected.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Marciene Hosler, judge of elections, Joanne Bogorae, Anna Stump and Kathy Phillips manned the polls at Southside Fire Station in Brownsville Tuesday, where the ladies played music and welcomed fewer voters than anticipated.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Voters who used to cast ballots in the basement of St. Thomas in Clarksville now vote at a former dry cleaners building at 387 Front Street in Fredericktown, where turnout was low for Tuesday’s general election.
For a general election with important contests on the ballot, including races for county commissioner, district attorney and school boards, voter turnout in Washington, Greene and Fayette counties was light Tuesday.
“I thought we’d be a lot busier,” said Suzanne Lawver, judge of elections at Northside Fire Station in Brownsville. “(S)ince it’s four council (seats) and school board, I thought we’d have a lot more (voters).”
By 11 a.m., only 37 people had cast votes at the fire department, including Victor Sawka, who said the most important ballot items for him were school board members and council.
“I vote every year. They’re (local elections) just as important as the presidential ones. You got to have people to run your town and your boroughs. Somebody’s got to keep an eye on taking care of repairing the roads,” Sawka said.
Lawver anticipated more voters eager to elect local officials would arrive after work, but tempered those expectations, not expecting more than 100 in-person voters Tuesday.
“It’s just been a little slow … this year,” she said.
Voter turnout Tuesday was low at Southside Fire Department in Brownsville, too.
“We’ve been here four hours and we have 15 people,” said Marciene Hosler, judge of elections. “This is always a very low polling place. Very low.”
In last year’s primary, only 73 people turned out to vote. Hosler hoped to hand out at least 130 “I Voted” stickers Tuesday, but said at the rate voters trickled in, the polling place would be lucky to welcome 100 people.
“They’ll vote in the presidential election,” Hosler said, noting almost 180 people turned out for the 2020 election. “They need to come out for your council people and your people in Uniontown, your commissioners. They need to come out and vote for them. But they don’t.”
One reason for low voter turnout, Hosler and her poll workers suspected, is that physical presence is no longer necessary to participate in democracy.
“We lost them with the mail-in ballot,” said Joanne Bogorae, a poll worker at Southside.
Siegrid Nemal, judge of elections at Fredericktown’s Tri County Joint Municipal Authority in Washington County, said mail-in ballots have impacted turnout at her polling place, too.
“Ever since COVID hit, I think it went to that. They used to come in. They don’t,” she said.
Around lunchtime, of the polling place’s 343 registered voters, only 38 had cast ballots, including 81-year-old Ronald Galatic.
“I just vote in every election,” Galatic said. “It’s your duty to vote.”
Barbara Moschetta, also of Fredericktown, votes in every election, too. When she cast her ballot at the East Beth Library Tuesday afternoon, she was the only person voting.
“It’s your right to vote. If you want things done right, then you should support what your beliefs are,” Moschetta said.
Moschetta took an “I Voted” sticker on her way out the door; she was voter 56.
“It’s not what people consider an important election, so that’s about average,” said Judge of Elections Leann Marcolini, noting that county commissioners and judges were on the ballot. “People don’t realize how important that is.”
Marcolini said folks voted before work and she expected people to drop in after work, between 2 and 4 p.m.
“In the evening, like after six o’clock, we don’t have a whole lot,” she said.
There weren’t a whole lot of people voting on the other end of Fredericktown, in a building that formerly housed a dry cleaning business on Front Street. That precinct used to vote at St. Thomas in Clarksville, but about three years ago, the church was sold and no longer serves as a polling station.
Now, voters have to travel to the nondescript building with little parking to cast their ballots, which has impacted turnout the past few elections, said Marie Swinchock, a poll worker.
“We’re displaced,” Swinchock said.
Though a bit of a drive, by lunchtime, 39 people had voted at the polling station, but Judge of Elections Yvonne Frank said she had expected more, “especially since it’s a general election.”
“It’s a beautiful day. We were hoping for about 100. I don’t think we’re gonna get there,” she said. “Usually for our general election, we get 100 to 150.”
Greene County sang the same voter turnout story Tuesday, where by 12:45 only 45 people had voted at Magic Moments in Carmichaels.
“We’re having the school directors, so it should be heavier than this. But when school’s out, maybe the teachers and stuff will come,” said Joanne Yurick, judge of elections. “We have 300 registered voters, approximately. Every election, at least 120 of the same people will come out. And next year, there’ll be more … for the national election.”
Presidential elections draw a larger crowd everywhere, but for voter Janice Yoskovich, every election is important.
“It doesn’t matter: local level or the president. It’s all very important,” she said. “It starts with the local level.”
Nathan Smalara, who voted Tuesday, agreed.
“It’s just important to handle the local elections and general state business, especially with the judges. It’s just important to handle the little things and not just the big ones,” said Smalara, who has voted in every election since he turned 18.
Though Smalara, 38, and some younger folks – including a first-time voter, Yurick said – cast ballots Tuesday, Yoskovich said in the last several years, she’s noticed less engagement in elections across the board.
“There’s not enough interest in voting, and people having concerns about what’s going on in the world, because our world’s a mess right now. There needs to be more emphasis put on who’s elected,” she said.
A misprint on the Greene County ballots caused confusion ahead of Election Day, and while Yoskovich is concerned about voter fraud, she does not think it will impact Tuesday’s general election.
At Magic Moments, “in our little precinct … it’s not a big issue,” poll worker Linda Antonini said.
Greene County Elections Director Eric Finch, who took over the role recently, classified the election as “smooth” on Tuesday afternoon.
He said some voters cast provisional ballots after mail-in ballots have incorrect instructions for how to vote in the commissioners race.
“A fair amount are going in to correct their ballots,” he said.
Elections officials in Washington and Fayette counties also said they encountered no major issues during the general election.
“There are no issues that affected any of the voters today,” Washington County Elections Director Melanie Ostrander said.
While none were able to speculate on what the turnout would be, Fayette County Elections Director Marybeth Kuznik said the sunny skies made her hopeful.
“It’s a beautiful day, so I hope it’s a good turnout for a municipal election.”
Reporters Jon Andreassi and Mark Hofmann contributed to this article.