Polling places around the Bradford area on Tuesday appeared to be more like social gatherings than a place where people cast their votes.
Area officials reported very low turnout in the primary election that saw few local races on the Republican ballot and even fewer on the Democrat ballot. Unofficial election results revealed that 4,108 total ballots were cast — of those 2,943 Republican and 1,165 Democrat — in McKean County.
In Bradford City, at the Grace Lutheran Church, workers saw about three people per hour, amounting to 26 individuals as of around 3:40 p.m. Polls opened for the day at 7 a.m.
Election judge Nancy Allen expected that kind of turnout, since “it’s all Republicans, no Democrats” in the primaries.
Clerk Jim Comilla attributed the low turnout to there being no interesting candidates on the ballot. There were also plenty of write-ins on the Democratic ballot, he indicated.
“There are just no choices on the ballot today,” said Judge of Elections Diana Church.
The turnout at Hill Memorial United Methodist Church in Bradford was minimal, but she said that is to be anticipated for the primaries. Traditionally, governor and presidential races bring a larger turnout of voters.
As of around 3:30 p.m., that precinct stood at 35 people having cast their ballots. If the number hit 100, Church said she’d be in shock.
In Bradford Township, the polling place at St. Bernard Elementary/Middle School saw 179 people at about 5:20 p.m., something that majority inspector Christopher Tingley called typical.
At that polling place, minority inspector Barbara Smead said she figures the precinct will see about 200 people by the election day’s end.
Majority inspector Susan Gould said the voting has been sporadic at the Foster Township municipal building, with 148 people around 5:45 p.m.
At the First Presbyterian Church of Bradford, around 23 people cast their votes as of around 4 p.m., and that included some of the election workers. In 2015, 144 people voted at the precinct and 62 in 2014 during the primary elections.
“The low turnout is normal for us,” said Judge of Elections Barbara Pecora at the polling place at Emery Towers, adding that many young people and older folks do not come out to cast their ballots. As of around 3:50 p.m., only 33 people voted at that polling place.
