EYEWITNESS NEWS (WBRE/WYOU)— The Primary Election Polls are open. Today, Pennsylvanians will vote for which candidates in their party they want to move on to the general election in November.
28/22 News Reporter Sydney Kostus met with voters in Luzerne County Tuesday.
Polls at the Toyota Sportsplex polling location opened at 7:00 a.m. and a handful of people made their way inside when the doors opened.
The primary is traditionally known for a low voter turnout, but voters that 28/22 News spoke with said every election is important to create change, especially when you have a question on the ballot in Luzerne County.
PA Primary: What you need to know
“To vote! Voting is important. I mean if you don’t vote, you don’t have a say in what’s going on so you can’t complain if you don’t vote,” said Deborah McGuinness, from Wilkes-Barre.
Traditionally, three out of every ten voters or fewer in Luzerne County cast a ballot in the primary election.
That low average doesn’t sit well with some voters like Wilkes-Barre resident James Yarwood who says the primary is the most important.
“Politics start at a local level and move up from there, they don’t move down from the top. So if we don’t get involved from a local level, what we get at the other end is what we ignored,” Yarwood told 28/22 News.
Lackawanna County election preparations
Luzerne County voters who went to the polls Tuesday will see a yes or no question on their ballot about forming a government study commission.
Since 2012, the county has been a home rule charter government, meaning we have 11 county council members.
Luzerne County Acting Director Emily Cook explained that if the new study commission is adopted, it may or may not propose changes to the current form of government.
“There are postings at all of your polling sites and all of our mail ballot voters received an actual plain English statement explaining sort of in detail, what is the government study commission question about. It’ll be the actual question, which voters would either vote yes or no on, and there are 17 candidates running to be on the commission, should it be activated,” Cook explained.
Voter Deborah McGuinness says she’s proud to cast her ballot and hopes the younger generations are as well.
“The younger people have to realize too that if they want a voice, they want things to change, then they have to get out and vote,” McGuinness said.
The polling places are open until 8:00 Tuesday night.
Voters are urged to double-check their correct polling place and a reminder that only registered Democrats and Republicans can vote in primaries.
