May 17, 2022 3 min read

Republicans are expected to turn out in droves for today’s primary election, while Democrats have an overwhelming advantage in the number of mail-in ballots sent to elections offices in the region.

There are several high-profile statewide races in the Democratic and Republican primaries, although very few local races of significance that could impact turnout in particular state legislative districts that are competitive.

The polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., while mail-in ballots must be received at their respective elections office no later than 8 p.m. or they will not be counted.

“I anticipate the Republican in-person turnout will be high because the Republican (races for governor and U.S. Senate are competitive), and they’re highly contested races from watching the news,” Washington County Elections Director Melanie Ostrander said. “I think overall, with mail-in and in-person (voting), I’m predicting 38% turnout, which isn’t high, but for a primary, it’s high.”

The elections office has sent out 13,709 mail-in and absentee ballots and received 8,110 back as of Monday morning. Democrats held a nearly 4-to-1 advantage over Republicans in the number of the requested ballots. Ostrander expects another 3,000 to 4,000 ballots to come into the office by tonight. A supervised ballot box under the watchful eyes of an elections office employee and sheriff’s deputy will be stationed in the first-floor lobby of the county’s Courthouse Square building at 100 W. Beau St. in Washington from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. today.

There was one last-minute change to a polling place in Washington County with Donora 7, which was moved from St. John’s Episcopal Church to American Croatian Club at 329 Castner Ave. Signage will be placed at the previous polling location for people who were unaware of the change.

There are two competitive state legislative races in Washington County, both of which are in the Republican primary. State Rep. Natalie Mihalek will face Steve Renz in the Republican primary for the 40th District that includes Peters Township, Upper St. Clair and Bethel Park. The other Republican primary is between state Rep. Mike Puskaric and Andrew Kuzma for the 39th House District that includes parts of the Mon Valley in both Washington and Allegheny counties.

“I don’t have any concerns,” Ostrander said. “I think everything will go fine.”

There are no localized primary races in Greene County, where state Rep. Bud Cook has been moved into the newly configured 50th House District that includes portions of the Mon Valley in Washington County and all of Greene County. State Rep. Pam Snyder, a Democrat from Jefferson who currently represents Greene County, along with portions of Fayette and Washington counties, announced earlier this year that she was retiring at the end of her term. However, while Cook is not facing competition in the Republican primary, he will likely face Democrat Douglas Mason of Franklin Township in the November general election.

Greene County interim Elections Director Judy Snyder said the office has sent out 1,976 mail-in and absentee ballots, and had received 1,552 of them in return as of Monday afternoon. A partisan breakdown of the ballots was not available. She said last-minute ballots can be dropped off at the office at 92 E. High St. in Waynesburg from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. today.