Spahr: Alito decision does not affect special election in 18th Congressional
Larry Spahr
Barbara S. Miller/Observer-Reporter
Washington County Elections Director Larry Spahr, shown in a February 2018 photo, is retiring after decades of county service.
Developments were flying thick and fast Monday in the sphere of Pennsylvania elections, but Washington County Elections Director Larry Spahr wants to impress voters with one fact: the March 13 special election in the 18th Congressional District will take place as planned.
Word arrived early Monday afternoon that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito declined to stop the reconfiguration of Pennsylvania congressional districts.
Alito let stand the state Supreme Court decision that the boundaries of Pennsylvania’s Congressional Districts unfairly benefited Republicans.
“We keep getting updates from Harrisburg,” Spahr said Monday afternoon.
Meanwhile, elections offices statewide were also notified Monday deadlines geared toward the May 15 primary election have been altered for those planning to seek a major-party nomination for Congress. The first date on which Congressional candidates will be able to circulate nominating petitions will be Feb. 27 instead of Feb. 13. And the filing deadline, for Congress only, will be March 20 instead of the previously scheduled March 13.
The dates were revised, Spahr said, because, “If the lines are re-drawn, how do candidates know they’re circulating in the correct district?”
Dates remain the same for all other offices appearing on the Pennsylvania May 15 primary ballot: Feb. 13, for petition circulation and filing through March 13.
Meanwhile, those not previously registered to vote have until Monday, Feb. 12, to sign up and be eligible to cast a ballot in the special election March 13 in the 18th Congressional District.
Democrat Conor Lamb of Mt. Lebanon, a former federal prosecutor, Republican State Rep. Rick Saccone of Elizabeth Township and Libertarian Drew Gray Miller, a Pittsburgh attorney, are vying to succeed Tim Murphy, who resigned amid scandal last fall.
The candidate elected March 13 will serve the remainder of the year in Congress.
The district includes Allegheny County’s southern and western regions, and parts of Washington, Greene and Westmoreland counties.
The Washington County elections office, which usually closes at 4:30 p.m., will stay open an extra half hour Feb. 12 to accommodate late arrivals.
New registrants and those who are changing their party affiliation can also sign up at www.votespa.com. Those with questions can call their local election office or 1-877-VOTESPA.
Melanie Ostrander, assistant director of elections, said Feb. 12 is also the deadline for those who would like to be assigned to local election boards. For more information on local election board placement, call the office at 724-228-6750.
Beginning with the special election, voters who previously reported to Ringgold Middle School in Union Township’s 5th Precinct will be voting at St. Francis of Assisi Roman Catholic Church on the opposite side of Route 88.
“I don’t know how extensive the knowledge is out there about the special election ballots,” Sphar said.
Perhaps adding to voters’ confusion is another special election in the 48th Legislative District to serve out the unexpired term of former State Rep. Brandon Neuman, who is now a Washington County judge.
This special election, affecting the Washington-Canonsburg area, is being conducted on the same day as the May 15 primary.
Democrat Clark Mitchell Jr. and Republican Tim O’Neal, both South Strabane residents, were nominated as their respective party’s candidates for the special election, but they and any qualified major-party hopeful can file for a nomination May 15 to the two-year legislative term that begins in January 2019.