November 05, 2020 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Politics & Elections
State Sen. Jim Brewster is one of several Democratic legislators in Pennsylvania who are trailing their challengers following Tuesday’s election.
With all precincts in both Allegheny and Westmoreland counties reporting Thursday night, Republican Nicole Ziccarelli was leading Brewster, the 45th Senatorial District incumbent, by about 1,500 votes, 63,058 to 61,515.
According to Allegheny County officials, more than 35,000 absentee ballots still need to be reviewed on Friday.
County spokeswoman Amie Downs said Thursday those ballots include approximately 29,000 that were incorrectly printed by a vendor, and had to be re-issued, as well as ballots that were damaged and could not be electronically scanned.
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November 02, 2020 |
By Bill Phillips | Posted in: Politics & Elections
(Prachatai illustration, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
OK, Tube City Online readers — as Jeff Probst from “Survivor” would say, “it is time to vote.”
All Allegheny County polling places are expected to be open on Tuesday. Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. By law, anyone in line at 8 p.m. will be allowed to vote.
To find your polling place, visit this website and enter your address.
Poll workers will be provided masks, gloves, face shields and hand sanitizer. Additionally, there will be clear plastic shields at the sign-in tables. There will also be cleaning materials at the polling place, tape to mark off six-foot distances for voters waiting in line, and extra staff to help enforce the provisions.
Voters will be asked to wear a face covering in compliance with the state order. Those who arrive without a face covering will be offered one.
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October 29, 2020 |
By Jason A. Mignanelli | Posted in: Politics & Elections
When state Rep. Bill Kortz announced his retirement in January, Linda Book had to quickly make her decision whether to run for the 38th Legislative District seat.
“Sam DeMarco (chairman of the Republican Committee of Allegheny County) called me and asked me to run,” said Book, a member of Whitehall Borough council.
She also serves on the board of directors and the board of trustees of the Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs and was out of town when DeMarco called, so she wasn’t able to get the petition signatures necessary in time to run in the Republican primary.
Instead, she earned the Republican nomination as a write-in candidate.
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October 29, 2020 |
By Jason A. Mignanelli | Posted in: Politics & Elections
Nick Pisciottano, Democratic nominee in the 38th Legislative District, has family roots in Pittsburgh that date back to before the Civil War.
“I really care about the people in my area,” said Pisciottano. “I want them to know that I’m invested here. I’m here to stay. I want these people to be able to succeed. I want to see them get good jobs and support their families and send their kids to good schools.”
Pisciottano credits family members for his desire to work in public service.
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October 29, 2020 |
By Jason A. Mignanelli | Posted in: Politics & Elections
State Rep. Austin Davis has served the 35th District for the last two years and says he has much more that he’d like to get accomplished.
“I think we’ve done a lot in a short amount of time,” Davis said. “Most recently, I was involved in securing the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency tax credit that will finance an $18 million revitalization project in Clairton.”
“I initially decided to run for office two years ago because I grew up in the Mon Valley,” Davis said. “I went to McKeesport High School. I wanted to use my experience to help my community. I want to make the Mon Valley the best place that it can be. I want to find ways for disadvantaged children to have more opportunities.”
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October 29, 2020 |
By Jason A. Mignanelli | Posted in: Politics & Elections
In the state House District 35 race, incumbent Austin Davis is facing off against write-in candidate and independent Don Nevills of Clairton.
Don Nevills is a 14-year Navy veteran and small business owner.
“I’m sick and tired of all the corruption and lies,” Nevills said. “I used to complain about it but now I wanted to step up and actually try to make a difference.”
Nevills is running as a write-in candidate because he joined the race after the primary. Nevills also considered a bid at a U.S. House of Representatives seat, but would have needed to get 5,000 signatures on petitions to be placed on the ballot as an independent.
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October 22, 2020 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements, Politics & Elections
“#298” by Kelley Minars, via Flickr. Licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Take Action Mon Valley is one of several groups that is offering free transportation to polling places on Election Day.
A spokeswoman said the non-profit group will provide Allegheny County voters in McKeesport, Duquesne, Clairton, Braddock, Rankin, West Mifflin and nearby communities with free rides via Lyft, Uber or in a volunteer’s vehicle.
That includes transportation Sunday (Oct. 25) to the county’s satellite polling place at CCAC South Campus in West Mifflin, where absentee and vote-by-mail ballots may be deposited in person, or to the polls on Nov. 3.
To request a ride in from TAMV, call or text (412) 440-8268.
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October 21, 2020 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Politics & Elections
Allegheny County elections officials are reminding voters who plan to use an absentee or “vote-by-mail” ballot that they must put their ballot into a secrecy envelope and sign the voter’s declaration before mailing or depositing it. Sample envelopes are shown. (Allegheny County photos)
Over the past two weekends, nearly 27,000 absentee ballots have been returned in-person at temporary Allegheny County elections offices, a county spokeswoman said.
Last weekend, 12,675 ballots were returned at five locations, including CCAC South Campus in West Mifflin, where 1,950 ballots were returned during the two-day period, said Amie Downs, county spokeswoman.
During the weekend of Oct. 10 and 11, approximately 13,950 ballots were returned to five temporary elections offices, Downs said.
Although Pennsylvania does not allow early in-person voting, absentee or “vote-by-mail” ballots may be returned by voters, in-person, to a county election office.
Allegheny County is opening temporary, satellite elections offices at locations throughout the Pittsburgh area to accommodate voters who do not want to wait in lines on Nov. 3 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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September 21, 2020 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News, Politics & Elections
(Tube City Almanac file photo)
Allegheny County will open additional elections offices in October so that voters who want to return paper ballots in person may do so safely.
Although the county plans to have more than 1,300 polling places open for the Nov. 3 election, officials expect heavier than usual use of vote-by-mail and absentee ballots due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The county board of elections last week unanimously approved a proposal in which the Elections Division will open additional offices on specific dates and times.
Each office will provide opportunity for voters to provide over-the-counter voting, and the return of voted ballots to a fully-staffed, secure office, a county spokeswoman said.
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August 26, 2020 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Politics & Elections
Editor’s Note: Clarified to note that Pennsylvania puts no monetary limits on gifts. There are other restrictions.
State Sen. Jim Brewster of McKeesport, shown with Braddock Mayor Chardaé Jones and representatives of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission during a recent tour of the Monongahela River, has introduced legislation to ban gifts from lobbyists to Pennsylvania lawmakers. (Submitted photo)
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has lent his support to an effort by a McKeesport lawmaker to block gifts from lobbyists to state lawmakers.
During a press conference Tuesday near Harrisburg, Wolf introduced his fall legislative agenda, asking the state house and senate to take up several proposals this fall, including additional aid for workers who lost jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic and for businesses forced to close or restrict operations.
Wolf also endorsed a proposal introduced by state Sen. Jim Brewster that would ban gifts from special interests to legislators.
Pennsylvania is one of only 10 states that puts no monetary cap on gifts to members of the state house and senate, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
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