PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Voters across the Philadelphia region have been making their voices heard at the polls for Tuesday’s midterm election.
Anecdotally, many voters and observers report higher turnout than the norm for a midterm general election. One polling place in Perkasie said they were expecting 50% turnout.
“It's usually quiet,” said Brett Ludwig of Huntingdon Valley. “I couldn't even find a spot here this morning, which is really encouraging to me.”
Longtime poll worker Diedre Williams, who assists at the Francisville Recreation Center in North Philadelphia, said that she has seen an uptick in voters compared to past years.
“I think this is a little more. Usually midterms are really kind of slow, but we got some good numbers, and I’m proud to say that,” Williams said.
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Many of those voters Tuesday were motivated by issues including inflation, crime and abortion access.
Donna Miller-Smith of Bucks County, who voted for Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano and U.S. Senate candidate Mehmet Oz, said she was more eager to vote today than at any time she could remember.
"The things that are important to me are being energy-independent, our border, crime, economy,” she said.
Montgomery County voter Danna Kistner, who brought up national defense and energy independence as two key issues, joined Miller-Smith.
“I’m voting for Mehmet Oz,” Kistner said. “I’m voting Republican because that’s the best chance our country has to survive.”
Women’s rights, particularly after the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court this year, was the driving factor for many in this election, including Rebecca Downes of Abington Township.
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“Choice of your body, and not having the government dictate what you do with it,” said Downes. “I have two daughters, so it's very critical to me.”
Inez Ragan, 77 of West Philadelphia, thought of younger generations when deciding her key motivating issues.
“Even though I'm 77 and I know I can't have any kids, abortion was very important to me. I say crime and abortion,” Ragan said.
“I want the streets to be safer. I want these children to be able to walk the streets without getting shot.”
Raul Romero, who voted in Roxborough, said he casts his ballot in every election. Women's issues were among his motivators to vote this year.
"It's very important this year to show up and vote, with issues like women's rights being represented on the ballot with our elected officials, along with other things like Supreme Court nominations and representations of our values and fairness," said Romero.
Crime and the economy were among reasons Kim Fuller from West Philadelphia had for voting, though she understood elected officials don’t control every part of those complex issues.
“Being able to send children to good schools that are able to make a difference in their lives. That's important to me. The economy is important to me, because food is so astronomically high right now. Crime is important to me because I want to be able to go somewhere without the fear of being murdered on my way there, on my way home,” Fuller said.
“I don't think that those issues are the fault of the elected officials. But I do think that it is the elected officials’ responsibility to try to help us find a solution to the problem, put it in action and make it work.”
Helene Tunney of Huntingdon Valley, who said she has changed her party a few times in her life, said her biggest concerns revolve around her ability to make a living in this economy.
“It really comes down to working people. Working people, working people, working people,” Tunney said, siding with Democratic candidates Tuesday. “The working people lift up the poor people because they give them jobs, not the rich. They give them minimum wage. The rich, they don’t give them anything.”
Brian Tradewell of Quakertown was on the fence about the U.S. Senate race until he saw the debate. Democratic candidate John Fetterman often stumbled through his answers as he continues to recover from a stroke he had just before the primary in May. Doctors say many stroke survivors retain cognitive ability while struggling with verbal communication. What Tradewell saw made him go for Oz.
“I saw him speak, and I did not feel he's fit for the job,” he said.
Some voters like Ginger Denham in Roxborough stayed party-line with their vote.
"I'm a conservative by philosophy," said Denham, who voted Republican in every race.
"There have been times when I have voted for a Democrat or an independent. I was even swayed by Bernie (Sanders) for a while. It's more about philosophy than anything else."
Numerous voters said the protection of democracy in itself became their prime reason for voting.
“I think that this election is all about whether we're going to continue to have a democratic government as ‘small d.’ In my 60 years of life. I've never been so worried about whether our elections are going to be able to be respected and recognized by the people,” said Jeff Grand of Abington.
“That is the only issue that matters to me at this point.”
Mail-in ballot problems, issues with voting machines
Some voters Tuesday came to the polls to solve problems with votes they had already cast by using mail-in ballots, and others had to use provisional ballots to vote after issues with voting machines or other technical issues at the polls.
Some Mercer County, New Jersey voters encountered ballot box problems after all Dominion voting machines stopped working not long after the polls opened, so those voters had to file provisional ballots. A group of polling sites in Burlington County, New Jersey experienced connectivity issues, so voters there also received provisional ballots to be counted by hand, possibly delaying the release of results.
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Meanwhile, some voters in Pennsylvania found themselves at their election office to fix a problem with their mail-in ballot, or to vote because they didn’t receive that ballot.
Thousands of voters across the state were forced to try and fix their ballot situation after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling last week requiring election officials to set aside and not count ballots that had issues.
The Philadelphia City Commissioners' office said nearly 3,600 city voters in the 2022 general election had mail-in or absentee ballots that were returned without a signature, a date, a possibly incorrect date or were not enclosed in the proper secrecy envelope.
Some Philadelphia voters rushed to City Hall Tuesday to fix those mail-in ballots, or simply to vote after not receiving the mail-in ballots they ordered.
They found easy voting experiences Tuesday after trying to fix their ballots and encountering long lines on Monday.
“They’ve been sending texts asking, ‘Did you receive your ballot? Have you voted yet?’” said Sue Spenser, who says she votes by mail every year. She had not received her mail-in ballot.
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She said she received a reply text telling here where to go, and she came to City Hall Monday evening.
Spenser said that when she got to City Hall, the line was so long that workers turned her away.
She wasn’t alone. Hundreds like Abigail Pierce had the same experience.
“Came here yesterday around 3:30 p.m.,” Pierce said. “The line was so long. I couldn’t turn in my ballot. They turned me away and told me to come back today.”
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Both Pierce and Spenser came back to City Hall to vote Tuesday, and said it was a painless experience.
“I came down here. Smooth sailing,” said Spenser. “Today it went super smoothly in and out. I was able to cast my vote.”
“I just moved to Philly from the suburbs, and I chose a mail-in ballot. It was supposed to come but didn’t come,” said Kelly Wallace.
“I came today to drop off my ballot. It was great. I voted. Now hopefully there’s a clear winner.”