It's Election Day 2019: Here is everything to know about voting in Franklin County

Election day is here. 

Today, residents in Franklin County and around Pennsylvania will elect candidates to municipal offices and a state judgeship.

Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the county's 73 precincts. The precincts of Montgomery 4 and Peters 4 have been eliminated since last year's general election; if you are unsure of your polling place, check your current voter registration card, call the voter registration office at 717-261-3886 or go to pavoterservices.pa.gov. Constituents who are voting in a district for the first time will need to show identification, per the Help America Vote Act. 

Voters will cast ballots using new voting machines, the county announced this summer, but they should not notice any difference. They will still get a paper ballot and fill in the bubbles next to their preferred candidates, then feed the ballot into a machine that records their choices.

The county purchased new ballot-reading machines to comply with the state's requirement that all voting systems be upgraded to meet tighter security standards. 

More:2019 municipal election: Here are the Franklin County candidates seeking election Nov. 5

Public Opinion will post results of local races online Tuesday night. Check publicopiniononline.com after 8 p.m. for updates. Due to our press time, results coverage will be available in print on Thursday. 

The races

Of the candidates included below, incumbents are indicated with an (*)

There are two contested races for a county-wide office. 

Four candidates will appear on the ballot for Board of Franklin County Commissioners: Republicans Dave Keller* and John Flannery, and Democrats Bob Ziobrowski* and Sheri Morgan. Bob Thomas* is running a write-in campaign. 

Voters will be able to choose two candidates. The top three vote-getters will win four-year terms on the county governance board. 

More:Franklin County commissioner candidates share why you should vote for them

The only other contested county-wide race is for register and recorder. The candidates: Democrat Damien Buhrman and Republican Linda Miller.*

Several other county-wide races will appear on the ballot, but each has one candidate. 

Among boroughs and townships, voters in less than half of them will see at least one contested race on their ballot. 

In Chambersburg, there are borough council and school board races. 

The borough council races are: 

• Ward 1: Democrat Alice Elia* vs. Jeremiah D. Snyder
• Ward 2: Democrat Julie Raulli vs. Republican John Huber
• Ward 5: Democrat Herb Dolaway* vs. Republican Bill Everly 

There is one contested race for Chambersburg Area school board. For Region 5, which includes Chambersburg 1-1 and Greene 2 and 5, the candidates are Democrat William J. Lennartz Jr.* and Republican Thomas A. Dolan. 

There are supervisor races in four townships: 

• Antrim: Democrat Connie Slye vs. Republican Richard Baer*
• Hamilton (two-year term): Democrat Joe Pyne vs. Republican Ron Yeager*
• Metal: Democrat Anna Swailes* vs. Republican Dale L. Hall
• Washington: Democrat Travis Gladhill, Democrat/Republican C. Stewart McCleaf*, Republican Dan DeDona (voters may choose two).

Voters in Shippensburg's West End, Orrstown and Southampton Township will vote on two candidates to fill District B seats on Shippensburg Area school board. Their choices are David L. Lovett*, Democrat/Republican Mark Buterbaugh and Republican Geno Torri. 

There is also a race for Shippensburg-West End tax collector: Democrat Patricia A. Bowser vs. Republican Steven Brenize.

All voters in the county will also have the opportunity to choose two candidates for the Pennsylvania Superior Court, one of two intermediate appellate state courts, which hears most civil and criminal cases appealed from the Courts of Common Pleas. The candidates are: Democrats Amanda Green-Hawkins and Daniel D. McCaffery, and Republicans Megan McCarthy King and Christylee Peck. 

See the full sample ballot here. 

Referendum question

Voters may vote yes or no on a referendum to add a section to the state constitution that addresses the rights of crime victims. Pennsylvania is the 13th state to vote on what is called Marsy's Law, according to Ballotpedia. 

However, the votes will not be counted or certified pending the result of a court ruling filed just days ago to block the question on the basis that the amendment violates the state constitution's requirement that separate amendments receive separate votes.

More: Will the voting system change in Franklin County? Yes, and no.