Franklin County gets 21 percent voter turnout for primary election

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. — As final Franklin County, Pa., election results were reported hours after polls closed Tuesday, numbers showed voters chose to retain county-level officeholders while making changes to municipal and school boards.

Greene Township’s First Precinct, which had 127 write-in votes, reported its results after midnight. Final turnout information indicated 21 percent of Franklin County’s 72,965 registered Democrats and Republicans cast ballots in the primary election.

The top vote-getters will proceed to ballots in the Nov. 8 municipal election.

Voters in Washington Township, Pa., ousted Waynesboro Area School Board members K. Marilyn Smith and Pat Heefner. Instead, Ashley M. Newcomer, Rita Daywalt and Gregory S. Ochoa will square off in November for two four-year terms.

Newcomer is a registered Republican, and Daywalt and Ochoa are registered Democrats. All cross-filed under a Pennsylvania provision that allows school board candidates to appear on both parties’ ballots in a primary election.

Newcomer was the top vote-getter among Republicans with 735 votes, followed by Daywalt’s 602 votes from GOP voters. Ochoa was the leading vote-getter on the Democratic side with 264 votes, followed by Newcomer’s 166 votes.

“I was just very appreciative of the support I received from the community,” said Newcomer, of 8 Eastland Circle. “I think it just shows the direction the community wants to go.”

Newcomer said she and Daywalt considered themselves teammates as they campaigned together.

Ochoa, of 8461 Oxford Circle, said he feels his experience in education would be beneficial on the board.

“I’m very thankful to all the supporters and the people who came out to vote, and all the volunteers, especially my family,” he said.

Voters selected new candidates to replace retiring magisterial district judges.

Chambersburg’s voters from both parties overwhelmingly selected candidate Glenn Manns, a retired police officer, to fill the position being vacated by Gary Carter. Mercersburg’s voters selected Jody Eyer for the office held by retiring David Hawbaker.

The Franklin County Election Board and county staff members will start reviewing write-in votes Friday, Deputy Chief Clerk Jean Byers said. Once they are finished, candidates will have five days to request various spellings of their names be cumulated with the possibility of appearing on November ballots, she said.

The number of write-in votes seems to be fewer than an average municipal primary, according to Byers.

“Some of the (Republican) row officers decided ahead of time not to actively seek write-ins on the Democratic side,” Byers said.