• Centre County Expects Record Turnout at the Polls
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in Pennsylvania
It all comes down to today.
Voters will take to the polls to decide the contentious election for president between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump. Also on the ballot are Green Party candidate Jill Stein, Libertarian Gary Johnson and Constitution Party candidate Darrell Castle.
Trump won Centre County and Pennsylvania in the Republican Primary, in the county garnering 48.86 percent, 10,027 votes in a field of six candidates still on the ballot. Clinton, meanwhile, won the commonwealth but lost the county to Bernie Sanders in the Democratic Primary, with Clinton getting 44.02 percent (8,458 votes) to Sanders’ 53.76 percent (10,331 votes).
U.S. Senate
In Pennsylvania, voters also will be choosing who will occupy one of the state’s U.S. Senate seats with Republican incumbent Pat Toomey locked in a tight race with Democratic challenger Katie McGinty. The most recent Real Clear Politics polling average had McGinty with a 2 point edge in what has become a key race nationally for control of the Senate. Libertarian Edward Clifford is also on the ballot.
U.S. House of Representatives
For Pennsylvania’s 5th Congressional District, which includes Centre County, Republican incumbent Glenn Thompson of Howard is seeking his fifth term in the U.S. House of Representatives. For the second time in as many elections, he is challenged by Democrat Kerith Strano Taylor of Brookville. [Interviews with Thompson and Strano Taylor]
State Row Offices
Across the commonwealth, voters will be deciding on three state offices. For attorney general, Democrat Josh Shapiro and Republican John Rafferty are vying for the open office. Shapiro won the Centre County vote in the Democratic primary, with 60.40 percent among a field of three. Rafferty won 58.62 percent of the county vote against Joe Peters in the Republican primary.
The auditor general ballot is led by Democratic incumbent Eugene DePasquale and Republican challenger John Brown. Both ran unopposed in the primary. [Interviews with DePasquale and Brown] Also on the ballot are Green Party candidate John Sweeney and Libertarian Roy Minet.
State treasurer is another field of four, with Democrat Joe Torsella and Republican Otto Voit atop the ballot. Torsella and Voit ran unopposed in the primary. Green Party candidate Kristin Combs and Libertarian James Babb are also on the ballot. Tim Reese, who did not seek election, has held the office since being nominated by Gov. Tom Wolf in 2015 after the resignation of Rob McCord.
State House
Four districts representing parts of Centre County in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives will be on ballots.
– 76th District: Democratic incumbent Mike Hanna of Lock Haven seeks his 14th term against Republican nominee Stephanie Borowicz of McElhattan. [Interviews with Hanna and Borowicz] In Centre County, the 76th district represents Benner Township, Boggs Township, Burnside Township, Curtin Township, Haines Township, Howard, Howard Township, Liberty Township, Marion Township, Miles Township, Milesburg, Snow Shoe, Snow Shoe Township, Union Township and Unionville.
– 77th District: Democratic incumbent Scott Conklin of Rush Township is seeking his sixth term and is running unopposed. He will appear as both the Democratic and Republican candidate on the ballot. [Interview with Conklin] The 77th District includes includes State College, Ferguson Township (partial), Patton Township (partial), Huston Township, Philipsburg and Rush Township.
– 81st District: Republican incumbent Rich Irvin of Spruce Creek Township is running for his second term against Democratic challenger Rick Rogers of Mount Union. [Interviews with Irvin and Rogers] In Centre County, the 81st District represents Ferguson Township (partial), Patton Township (partial), Halfmoon Township, Port Matilda, Taylor Township and Worth Township
– 171st District: Republican incumbent Kerry Benninghoff of Bellefonte is running for his 11th term against Democratic challenger Melody Fleck of Pine Grove Mills. [Interviews with Benninghoff and Fleck] In Centre County, the 171st District includes Bellefonte, Centre Hall, College Township (partial), Ferguson Township (partial), Gregg Township, Harris Township, Millheim, and Penn, Potter, Spring and Walker Townships.
Ballot Question
Voters will be asked to vote yes or no on an amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution ‘to require that justices of the Supreme Court, judges, and magisterial district judges be retired on the last day of the calendar year in which they attain the age of 75.’ This would raise the mandatory retirement age for judges in the state from 70 to 75 years old.
Centre County Voting
According to county records, 123,204 voters are registered in Centre County as of Nov. 1.
Democrat – 51,098 – 41.47 percent
Republican – 47,600 – 38.64 percent
No Affiliation – 17,540 – 14.24 percent
Other – 5,891 – 4.78 percent
Libertarian – 808 – 0.66 percent
Green – 267 – 0.22 percent
In 2012, 101,000 were registered and in 2008, the last presidential election without an incumbent running, 106,000 were registered in the county.
