Election category, Page 101
Westmoreland Clerk of Courts candidates tout experience ahead of May primary
Westmoreland’s Clerk of Courts office in 2009 became the first domino to fall in the Republican Party takeover of most county row offices after more than a half-century of Democratic dominance. The office’s leadership is again in the spotlight. In the May 18 primary election, Clerk of Courts is the...
6 GOP candidates will battle for 4 open seats on Murrysville Council
Six Republican candidates, including two incumbents, will contend in May’s primary for a chance at four open Murrysville Council seats in the general election. With no Democratic candidates filed, the winners in next month’s primary are virtually guaranteed a council seat. Jason Lemak, 43, is an electrical engineer who has...
Pa. man admits to voter fraud in casting dead mother’s ballot
MEDIA — A Pennsylvania man who illegally voted for Donald Trump on behalf of his long-dead mother in last year’s presidential election was sentenced Friday to five years of probation. Bruce Bartman, 70, of Marple pleaded guilty Friday to two counts of perjury and one count of unlawful voting. Besides...
Pitcairn mayoral race pits 20-year-old challenger against 81-year-old incumbent
Margaret “Betsy” Stevick’s phone never seems to stop ringing. And the octogenarian mayor of Pitcairn never seems to stop moving. At 81, she’s running for reelection to another four-year term in the May 18 primary. Her opponent in the Democratic primary is 20-year-old Mika Petrosky, who also grew up in...
Mail-in ballot drop box locations approved in Westmoreland County
Editor’s note: This story was updated to correct the hours of operations for the remote drop box locations. Westmoreland County voters will have four, and maybe five, regional ballot drop boxes available for the two weekends prior to the May 18 primary. County commissioners on Tuesday approved drop-box locations at...
Franklin Regional school board primary includes 10 candidates
Unlike the 2019 primary, when the Franklin Regional School District’s Sloan “elementary campus” project dominated much of the election discussion, the 10 candidates seeking open school board seats in 2021 cited a wide variety of reasons for running. They range from emphasizing fiscal responsibility and maintaining the district’s reputation for...
Virginia agrees to absentee ballot option for blind voters
RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia election officials have agreed to permanently provide an absentee ballot option for blind voters. The agreement comes after several voters with disabilities, the American Council of the Blind of Virginia, and the National Federation of the Blind of Virginia filed a lawsuit in federal court last...
Primary ballots could hit Westmoreland mailboxes this weekend
Westmoreland County voters will begin receiving mail-in ballots as early as this weekend, possibly early next week. State officials signed off on the May 18 primary ballots and, on Wednesday, it is expected information will be forwarded to the county’s new private mail company to print and send out ballots...
4 referendums to appear on primary ballots in May; all registered voters eligible
All 8.8 million of Pennsylvania’s registered voters will be able to cast ballots on May 18, when four referendums will appear, including three that seek the change the state’s constitution. The deadline to register to vote in the primary is May 3. Voters will have until 5 p.m. May 11...
Supreme Court rejects lingering Pa. 2020 election challenge case
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday said it will not hear a case out of Pennsylvania related to the 2020 election, a dispute that had lingered while similar election challenges had already been rejected by the justices. The high court directed a lower court to dismiss the case as...
Paul Kengor: Will MLB boycott the Pirates — and the Phillies?
“Georgia has 17 days of in-person early voting, including two optional Sundays. Colorado has 15. … They also have a photo ID requirement. So, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me.” So puzzled Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp over the decision by Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred...
Drop boxes for spring primary under consideration in Westmoreland CountyVideo
Westmoreland commissioners said Wednesday ballot drop boxes likely will be placed in several locations throughout the county prior to the May 18 primary. The total number of boxes, their locations and dates they will operate have yet to be finalized, but plans are expected to be announced in a week...
Westmoreland commissioner says county voters want end to no-excuse mail-in ballots, another disputes that
Drawing criticism from county Democrats, Republican Westmoreland Commissioner Doug Chew on Tuesday told a Pennsylvania Senate committee that his constituents want to eliminate no-excuse mail-in voting. Chew testified before the Senate committee on election integrity and reform that more than 20,000 county residents were potentially disenfranchised during the 2020 presidential...
Primary ballots set for Westmoreland County races
Four of five district judge seats up for grabs in 2021 will have contested primaries in May. Meanwhile, just one countywide race — the Republican primary for the clerk of courts office — will be contested this spring. Barring candidate challenges, the May 18 primary ballots appear set. The deadline...
Bartos declares candidacy for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG — Jeff Bartos is formally launching his campaign for Pennsylvania’s wide-open U.S. Senate race, the highest-profile Republican candidate so far to declare for the seat. Bartos, the Republican Party’s nominee for lieutenant governor in 2018, has said he was seriously considering a run and filed paperwork to run last...
Derry Township woman, former police officer, running for district judge
A Derry Township woman who served as a police officer and deputy coroner in neighboring Indiana County hopes to succeed retiring District Judge Mark Bilik for the Derry area. Republican Janelle L. Hood, 51, is seeking both party nominations in her bid for the District Court 10-3-08 seat. “I would...
Judge rules Arizona Senate can access 2020 election ballots
PHOENIX — A judge has ruled that the Arizona Senate can get access to 2.1 million ballots from Arizona’s most populous county so it can audit results of the 2020 election that saw Democrat Joe Biden win in the state. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Timothy Thomason’s decision Friday comes...
North Huntingdon woman to run for Westmoreland County Clerk of Courts
A North Huntingdon woman said her experience as a crime victim will be an asset needed to run the Westmoreland County Clerk of Courts office. Dorey Stabile McCarron, 46, a Republican, announced her candidacy this week to run the courthouse office that oversees the filing of criminal court records and...
Trafford council president to seek Penn Township district judge seat
A Trafford borough councilman is hoping to be the next district judge in Penn Township. Kristopher Cardiff, 43, is seeking to win the seat currently held by District Judge Helen Kistler, who said she will retire at the end of this year when her third six-year term expires. “I was...
Nicole Ziccarelli announces bid for Westmoreland County district attorney
Fresh off a razor-thin defeat in a bid to upset a two-term incumbent state senator, New Kensington lawyer Nicole Ziccarelli announced Wednesday she is seeking to oust another entrenched Democrat. Ziccarelli, a Republican, said she will run against six-term incumbent John Peck for the Westmoreland County District Attorney office in...
Former Westmoreland Recorder of Deeds Tom Murphy to run for new office
Tom Murphy spent 16 years as Westmoreland County’s recorder of deeds and, until last month, never considered running for another courthouse elected office. Murphy, who for the last year has been working the private sector after losing his re-election bid in 2019, received a call from his friend, Democratic incumbent...
Georgia prosecutor investigates election after Trump callVideo
ATLANTA — A Georgia prosecutor said Wednesday that she has opened a criminal investigation into “attempts to influence” last year’s general election, including a call in which President Donald Trump asked a top official to find enough votes to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in the state. In a Jan. 2...
Peck seeks to extend quarter-century run as Westmoreland DA
District Attorney John Peck announced he will try to extend his quarter-century run as Westmoreland County’s top prosecutor for another four years. Peck, 74, a Democrat from New Kensington, said he will seek a seventh term in office this year. “Leadership in law enforcement and justice in the courts are...
Pennsylvania mail-in ballot registry isn’t as permanent as the word implies
Editor’s note: A prior version of this story incorrectly stated the impact of ignoring a letter regarding the requirement to apply for mail in ballots annually even if voters registered for the “permanent mail-in ballot list.” Pennsylvania’s 2019 mail-in ballot law continues to create confusion as election officials across the...
Arizona Senate planning to hold board in contempt in election fight
PHOENIX — Republicans who control the Arizona Senate were poised to hold the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in contempt Monday for failing to turn over voting machines and ballots from the November election that lawmakers want to examine as they continue to question President Joe Biden’s win in the...
