By Sally Bell Staff writer
A Venango County judge heard testimony Friday regarding the proposed combination of voter precincts in Cornplanter and Rockland Townships and Sugarcreek Borough.
Judge Robert L. Boyer failed to issue a ruling from the bench and said he needed more time to review case law.
“I am going to look closely at this before we render a decision,” Boyer said.
Denise Jones, who is contracted with Venango County to serve as director of elections, testified that it would save money and be more efficient to combine voter precincts in the county.
Per election, about $2,500 is spent in Cornplanter 1 and 2 combined in election costs, Jones said. About $2,600 is spent per election in Rockland 1 and 2 combined, and about $1,400 is spent in Sugarcreek Borough 1 and 4 combined, she said.
If voter precincts in those districts were consolidated, the savings to the county would double, Jones said.
It is getting increasingly difficult to find people to serve as poll workers and to find adequate polling stations, Jones went on to testify. Combining voter precincts would halve the number of needed poll workers in those areas, she said.
Jones went on to testify about the number of electors in each district. In Cornplanter 1 – 1,101, in Cornplanter 2 – 433, Rockland 1 – 708, Rockland 2 – 161, Sugarcreek Borough 1 – 539 and Sugarcreek Borough 4 – 558.
Consolidating polling places would increase the number of voting machines at the combined location and hence the wait time in lines for voters, Jones said.
Betty M. Hepler, a Cranberry resident who has served as a judge of elections in Rockland 2, testified that the increased driving distance to a different polling place could discourage voters, especially the elderly.
“My biggest concern is the distance,” Hepler said. Bad weather on a voting night could further keep people at home if they had to drive an increased distance, she said.
“The only thing that connects Rockland 1 and 2 is wilderness,” Hepler said.
Four other people, Jerry Ziegler, Barbara Cisek McGarvey, Wayne Sankey and Jean Sankey, stood and stated their names to the court and further testified that consolidating voter precincts would have a “chilling effect” on voter turnout.
Sarah McGuinness, GIS planner for Venango County, testified that she had calculated the longest potential drive time that voters would have to a new polling place in each district, if the county’s petition were to go through.
In Cornplanter Township, the longest potential additional drive-time is 15 minutes, in Rockland Township it’s 17 minutes and in Sugarcreek Borough it’s five minutes, McGuinness said.
“We want to encourage the voting process and participation,” Breene said.
Absentee or alternate ballots could not be used by people who simply do not want to travel to a different polling place because they think it is too far, she said.
Bob Martin, current chair of the Venango County Republican Committee, addressed the court and said that current law states that election districts should have no more than 1,200 electors.
Further, the law states that municipalities must show “good cause” for combining precincts and it is not clear if cost savings alone is in the public interest, he said.
Boyer said that there is limited case law on the issue and that he would return a verdict after some research. He did note that it is difficult to find poll workers.
“The idea is not to have a chilling effect on voter turnout,” Boyer said.
The county was required to post five notices regarding its petition in each district and did so on March 3.
If the petition is approved, the number of voter precincts in Venango County would be reduced from 48 to 45.
