LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — It's Primary Election Day, and the new state legislative maps have made for some hotly contested seats in our area. That includes the 117th and 118th Districts in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, which take up parts of Luzerne County.
Newswatch 16 saw a low turnout at Harveys Lake in the 117th District. We saw more people working on behalf of campaigns than we did voters just after 9 a.m.
"It's been very light Harveys Lake. When I was there, and that's a big polling area, had 66, but they were flowing in as I left. So I guess people are just getting going," said Lynn Bartz, Republican chair for the 117th District.
In Dallas, only a handful of people came to vote at that borough building Tuesday morning, but when they got there, they were told the machines were down. Voters were asked to come back later or fill out a paper ballot.
"Upset, disgusted," said Lynn Bartz, Republican chair for the 117th District. "They should have prepped these machines and made sure they were running."
County officials said power issues caused some problems, but those issues were resolved by the afternoon.
Newswatch 16 saw a heavier turnout during lunchtime in the 118th District in West Pittston and across the river in Pittston.
Voters told us why they think primary elections see fewer voters than general elections.
"Because his choices aren't set. I went in there, and I held my nose and not knowing what am I going to be up against in the fall," laughed John Carroll.
"People are lazy, sometimes. They just don't care," said James O'Reilly.
But ultimately, they told us the reason they come out and exercised their right to vote.
"There may not be anybody that I really like, that I'm voting for. But I'm also in the position of voting against," Carroll said.
"How else are we going to elect the people that we want to get in? That's the system. You have to get out to vote. It's not going to magically appear out of the sky. So it is very important. I mean, that's how the system is supposed to work," O'Reilly added.
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