Franklin County voters: Here's what you need to know for the 2021 municipal primary
Tuesday is Election Day in Pennsylvania.
In Franklin County, voters will choose the Republican and Democratic candidates for local offices who will move on to the general election in November. The polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Turnout will likely be low. Less than 25% of registered voters participated in the last municipal primary two years ago. In 2017, turnout was less than 16%.
Mail-in ballots won't have as much of an impact as they did for the presidential election in November. The county has received about 6,200 requests for mail-in ballots, according to Jean Byers, deputy clerk at the Franklin County Commissioners Office. That's about a quarter of the number requested for the November election and less than half the number requested ahead of the 2020 primary.
It may not be as exciting as a historic presidential election, let alone one happening in the middle of a pandemic, but the people who hold the offices up for election this time around have a more direct impact on local residents.
Voters will nominate candidates for seats on school boards, borough councils and township boards, as well as candidates for mayor, magisterial district judge, county treasurer, tax collector, auditor, constable, and election judge and inspector. This election also includes judges for Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Superior Court and Commonwealth Court.
Across the county, the majority of offices on the ballot are not contested. But, there are races for many of the more significant ones.
Contested races for local offices
Candidates for school board and magisterial district judge can get on both the Republican and Democratic ballots, or "cross-file." This gives them a better chance of moving on to the general election.
Magisterial District Judge 39-3-03: Incumbent David Plum vs. Catherine McCarthy for this district judgeship, which covers Fannett, Hamilton, Letterkenny and Lurgan townships. Both candidates cross-filed.
Mayor of Chambersburg: Incumbent Walt Bietsch vs. Kenneth Hock in the Republican primary. Democrat Marvin Worthy is set to face the winner in November.
Mayor of Waynesboro: Dick Starliper, the four-term incumbent, is challenged by Douglas Carranza and Janeen McChesney in the GOP primary.
Greencastle Borough Council: Incumbent Larry Faight, Allen Mairose, Jan Shafer, Andrea Rose and Albert Miller compete in GOP primary for four spots. On the Democratic side, incumbent Wade Burkholder is the lone candidate.
Mercersburg Borough Council: Republicans Tim Stanton, Paul Sites, Anthony Miller, Donald Stoner Jr., and Raymond Minton compete for four, four-year seats. Stanton also appears on the ballot for the two-year seat.
Chambersburg Area school board, Region 1 seat: Faye Gaugler, James Jenkins, Joelene Kline, Gerald Culbertson and Christopher Reed compete in the GOP primary. Gaugler, Jenkins and Reed cross-filed. Region 1 includes Letterkenny and Lurgan townships and the third and sixth precincts of Greene Township.
Chambersburg Area school board, Region 3 seat: Tawnya Hurley and Sherian Diller both cross-filed. Region 3 covers Guilford Township precincts 2, 4 and 6.
Greencastle-Antrim school board: Ten Republican candidates - Charles Ford, Mark Chimel, Lindsey Mowen, Maria Bonebrake, Percy Rock, Eileen Dickinson, Janon Gray, Christopher Bonillas, Rich Davis and Hal Myers - will compete for four, four-year seats. Chimel and Ford cross-filed.
Tuscarora school board: Republicans Nathaniel Sullivan, Kevin Hoffman, Jay Clifton, Mary Sue Hartman, Erich Hawbaker and Brandon Boyer compete for five spots. Hoffman and Boyer cross-filed.
There are also contested GOP races for Lurgan Township supervisor, Mont Alto judge of elections and inspector of elections, Montgomery Township supervisor, Peters Township constable and inspector of elections, Quincy Township supervisor and constable, and Warren Township tax collector.
Candidate filed under wrong party
Joe Burkot will appear on the Democratic ballot as a candidate for Mercersburg Borough Council, but he is actually a Republican.
Burkot's nomination petition identified him as a Republican, but it was accidentally placed with the Democratic petitions after he turned it in, according to Byer, the county deputy clerk.
"It was as simple as it got placed in the wrong box," she said.
There is no time to fix the ballots. Byers only learned of the error in the first week of May, when Burkot brought it to her attention. The ballots were already printed and the vote-counting machines were already programmed.
Although the error gives all the candidates a better chance of moving on to the general election, Burkot said he would still prefer to be listed with his own party.
"While it will guarantee me a place on the ballot during the general election since I am erroneously listed as the only democrat, I would have much rather went head to head with the other republicans fair and square in the primaries and have the voters actually know what party the person they are voting for is affiliated with," he said in an email.
The county election board and the Pennsylvania Department of State have been notified of the error. Officials will decide what, if anything, should be done about the situation ahead of the general election in November "to make sure no voters are disenfranchised," Byers said.
Byers said she checks to make sure petitions have been placed in the correct boxes, but it is possible she got distracted and overlooked this one.
"It's one of those things, when it happens once it never happens again."
Ballot questions in the spotlight
All voters, including Independents, will be able to cast their votes on four ballot questions.
The first two questions are proposed amendments to Pennsylvania's constitution. They stem from the Republicans' response to Gov. Tom Wolf’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pa. constitutional amendments and ballot question:What to know about May 18 votes
All of the questions have some pretty confusing language. In short, here is what a "yes" vote means:
- The first amendment seeks to change the state’s constitution to allow the General Assembly to terminate or extend an emergency declaration without a governor’s approval.
- The second amendment would let emergency declarations expire after 21 days unless the General Assembly votes to extend them, and it would prohibit a governor from declaring a new emergency for the same situation unless legislators approve a concurrent resolution.
- The third amendment would ensure equal rights based on race and ethnicity under the state constitution.
- The fourth question is a referendum allowing municipal fire and emergency medical services to be eligible for loans. It would allow fire departments or companies with paid personnel and EMS companies to apply for an existing state loan program created for volunteer fire departments, ambulance services and rescue squads.
J.D. Prose of the Pennsylvania State Capital Bureau contributed to this report.
Amber South can be reached at asouth@publicopinionnews.com.