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Franklin County Dem primary voter given R ballot
https://www.timesonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/05/20/franklin-county-pennsylvania-democrat-republican-ballot-midterm-pa-election-primary-coverage/65356754007/But that's not the story. The real nugget is that this Dem voter had never voted in a primary, but was highly motivated by the senate and governor elections.
Hildebrand said in a phone interview Thursday that before Tuesday, she had never voted in a primary election.
She said she typically waits for general elections, but with all the issues surrounding state and federal elections in recent years, the retired Verizon worker was anxious to vote in Tuesday's primary, which featured races for a number of state and federal offices.
"Now I'm really into it. I'm paying attention," said Hildebrand, who was especially interested in U.S. Senate and gubernatorial races on the ticket.
She said she typically waits for general elections, but with all the issues surrounding state and federal elections in recent years, the retired Verizon worker was anxious to vote in Tuesday's primary, which featured races for a number of state and federal offices.
"Now I'm really into it. I'm paying attention," said Hildebrand, who was especially interested in U.S. Senate and gubernatorial races on the ticket.
Franklin County is a very red area. In fact, it's Mastriano's home county. These are exactly the kind of voters Dems need to motivate in Nov. That this voter is now highly engaged in the upcoming election by the senate (Fetterman) and governor (Shapiro) candidates is very encouraging.
3 replies
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= new reply since forum marked as read
Exactly. And they are out there and I expect many (and not just the "young voters" ) have never voted or have let their registrations lapse. Meanwhile we hear about how "Democrats are loosing the registration edge" in PA, but I think it is more that you have those pockets of frustrated and forgotten potential voters who needed to be "seen and heard" and given a push.
But with respect to what happened to this person -
(snip)
Pennsylvania holds closed primaries, meaning a voter can cast ballots only for candidates in that voter's registered party. Hildebrand said she walked up to poll workers in the hall along Colorado Street in Marion about a half-mile from her home around 11 a.m. She gave her name so they could look up her voter registration. When she went to a booth to vote, she noticed she had been given a Republican ballot. Hildebrand said she was not sure what to do since she is learning about the primary election process. About that time, she heard another man speak to poll workers, she said.
"He asked the same question: 'Why are there no Democrats on this ballot?'" said Hildebrand. Hildebrand said the poll worker told the man that only Republican candidates could be voted for on Tuesday and that the Democratic primary would be on a different day. Still unsure what to do, Hildebrand said she voted for the Republicans she felt had the least chance of winning and pinned her hopes on being able to vote in a Democratic primary on a later day.
Mistake becomes apparent
Hildebrand said when she began watching Democratic primary election results coming in later that evening, she realized she should have been given a Democratic ballot. She called state officials, who told her to contact Franklin County elections authorities. Hildebrand said she left a voicemail message with county elections staff.
Jennie Aines, Franklin County's chief registrar, said Thursday she recalls the county office getting a voicemail from a voter about an incident Tuesday. As chief registrar, Aines handles voter registration and printing of poll books for the county. Aines looked through records for Tuesday's voting at the Heidelberg Fellowship Hall and realized that Hildebrand was given a Republican ballot. Aines attributed the mistake to "human error," adding that "a lot of the poll workers are older."
(snip)
https://www.timesonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/05/20/franklin-county-pennsylvania-democrat-republican-ballot-midterm-pa-election-primary-coverage/65356754007/
Pennsylvania holds closed primaries, meaning a voter can cast ballots only for candidates in that voter's registered party. Hildebrand said she walked up to poll workers in the hall along Colorado Street in Marion about a half-mile from her home around 11 a.m. She gave her name so they could look up her voter registration. When she went to a booth to vote, she noticed she had been given a Republican ballot. Hildebrand said she was not sure what to do since she is learning about the primary election process. About that time, she heard another man speak to poll workers, she said.
"He asked the same question: 'Why are there no Democrats on this ballot?'" said Hildebrand. Hildebrand said the poll worker told the man that only Republican candidates could be voted for on Tuesday and that the Democratic primary would be on a different day. Still unsure what to do, Hildebrand said she voted for the Republicans she felt had the least chance of winning and pinned her hopes on being able to vote in a Democratic primary on a later day.
Mistake becomes apparent
Hildebrand said when she began watching Democratic primary election results coming in later that evening, she realized she should have been given a Democratic ballot. She called state officials, who told her to contact Franklin County elections authorities. Hildebrand said she left a voicemail message with county elections staff.
Jennie Aines, Franklin County's chief registrar, said Thursday she recalls the county office getting a voicemail from a voter about an incident Tuesday. As chief registrar, Aines handles voter registration and printing of poll books for the county. Aines looked through records for Tuesday's voting at the Heidelberg Fellowship Hall and realized that Hildebrand was given a Republican ballot. Aines attributed the mistake to "human error," adding that "a lot of the poll workers are older."
(snip)
https://www.timesonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/05/20/franklin-county-pennsylvania-democrat-republican-ballot-midterm-pa-election-primary-coverage/65356754007/
Pure election fraud. And I expect it is common.