Franklin County voter turnout low for Pa. primary

“I’ve voted since I was 18. It’s important to vote,” Ronald Sodoma said.

“People shouldn’t take their voting rights for granted. There’s nothing more important than getting out to vote,” he said.


“Some people get discouraged and think our votes don’t count, but our votes do count, and they should come out and vote,” Karen Sodoma said.

Margaret Pistner, of Greencastle, said she almost didn’t exercise her right to vote Tuesday but changed her mind.

“I think you need to express your opinion, and if we have that opportunity, then we need to take it whenever we can,” Pistner said.

At Greencastle Baptist Church, one of Antrim Township’s larger voting precincts, election judge Cheryl Thrush said voting was going along at a fairly normal pace.

“It’s really been steady. It’s been busier than I thought it would be,” Thrush said.

For Antrim Township resident Lee Scott, it was important that he exercise his right to vote in Tuesday’s primary.

As a supporter of write-in candidate Karen Ramsburg, Scott said he wanted to make sure Ramsburg gets on the November ballot in order to unseat U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster.

“It’s a good habit to always vote — being a good citizen. In this county, Republicans and the Democrats who have the huge incentive to not only challenge Shuster but also we have a candidate to write in to oppose Rock,” Scott said.

To secure a spot on the November ballot, a write-in candidate must secure at least the same number of write-in votes as they needed to sign their petition, according to county board of election officials.

Ramsburg, of Mercersburg, Pa., will need 1,000 write-in votes in order to challenge Shuster in the November election.

Write-in candidate and Greencastle resident Sheldon Schwartz will need 300 votes to challenge Rep. Todd Rock for the 90th House District in November.

James Taylor, of Mercersburg, will need a minimum of 500 votes in order to appear on the November ballot against state Sen. Richard Alloway.

Jean Byers, deputy chief clerk of Franklin County Board of Elections, said the county expected a low voter turnout based on two factors: a low rate of absentee ballot requests and a lack of phone calls prior to the election.

She said both are typically an indication that there are not as many people interested in voting.

“Our phones have been really, really quiet. That means that people aren’t calling to see if they are registered, they are not calling to see where their polling place is. So, that’s an indication to us that there is just not going to be that big of a turnout,” she said.

Byers said this year, the county had just more than 500 absentee ballot requests, compared to 1,000 for the presidential primary in 2008.