Jazmyn Stokes poses after voting at the Downtown branch of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh on Nov. 8. 2022. (Photo by Emma Folts/PublicSource)
Voters go to the polls today in a process that’s likely to draw scrutiny amid high stakes.
LIVE ELECTION UPDATES
A celebrity doctor versus a hoodie-clad former mayor in stroke recovery. A top prosecutor taking on a 2020 election denier. A Republican with the same name as the Democrat he’s trying to replace. A possibility that control of Congress and Harrisburg could hinge on the results.
These are not the ingredients of your typical midterm election. They’re usually fairly predictable referenda on the president’s performance. That’s part of the equation today. But abortion, fracking, inflation and the long shadow of the most recent prior president are also factors.
PublicSource reporters are fanning out to polling places throughout Allegheny County. We’ll post the intel here. Times are approximate.
7:25 a.m., Downtown: Jazmyn Stokes voted at the Downtown branch of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh within half an hour of polls opening. The rights of women and people of marginalized identities shaped her choices, she said. She felt particularly empowered by Summer Lee, the Democratic candidate for U.S. House District 12. “Me being a Black woman, looking up to someone like that, it’s nice to see,” she said. “When you have that voice in a position of power like that, they’re able to kind of make what you might be experiencing heard.”
7:28 a.m., Downtown: Jennifer Poulsen choked up as she spoke about her reason for coming to the polls. A mother to four daughters, Poulsen believes abortion is a fundamental right and said that this is “one of the most important elections we have. … We, as women, have the rights – should have the rights – to do with our bodies what we want to do,” she said. Her daughters, who range in age from 21 to 28, are voting today as well, but they didn’t need any encouragement from their mother to do so, Poulsen said.
8:15 a.m., Mt. Washington: Alex Grubbs, 26, paused his walk with his dog, Barbados, after voting. Grubbs, who works in public relations for a digital communications firm, said he’s voted in every election since he turned 18. The 2016 election, he said, was eye-opening. “We were so young but we immediately felt the effects going on from that election,” said Grubbs, who identifies as half Filipino and is on the board of directors of the Filipino American Association of Pittsburgh. “Now that I’m older and more aware, it’s more than just rights for me: It’s about everybody, women and the LGBTQ+ community. … We saw how quickly these rights can disappear, we need to be involved no matter what,” he said, noting how close elections have been recently. He said he is interested in making sure that the Asian American community in Pennsylvania feels drawn to participate in the electoral process and that there are organizations across the state looking to better involve that demographic in politics.
8:05 a.m., Squirrel Hill South: One voter at the Summerset Community Center said she was most motivated to show up to protect “the sacredness of the ballot and democracy, and making sure we don’t become a nation ruled by fear.” She said she was specifically interested in keeping Republican Doug Mastriano from winning the governor’s race. She declined to be named.
7:55 a.m., Squirrel Hill South: Jonathan and Amy Rhodes voted together at the Summerset Community Center. “We vote every time, this is our routine,” they said when asked what drove them to the polls this year. They voted Republican up and down the ticket but said they were most eager to vote for the GOP’s Mehmet Oz for Senate. “He stands for what I believe in and I’m not a [Lieut. Gov. John] Fetterman fan at all,” Jonathan said. Fetterman, who previously served as Braddock’s mayor, is the Democratic nominee facing Oz.