Voters Mired In Confusion Over Where To Vote, Locked Polling Places
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Voters came out to the polls in the 18th Congressional District with turnout report heavier than normal in many parts of the district, not counting all the national media.
"This is something else. I've never seen it so crowded. It's great. So maybe people are getting out to vote today, which is what we're hoping for," said one voter.
KDKA's Jon Delano Reports:
But not everyone got to vote in one of the most advertised elections ever.
"I left my house early this morning before work, so that I made it a point to go vote. I even tried to make my husband, but he wasn't going for that. So, I did go to vote, and the doors were locked," said Rhonda Bendick, of Brookline.
Bendick was hardly alone. At Our Lady of Loreto, where she works and is also a polling place, voters found no voting machines.
"They were coming two and three at a time. They started right after the 7:30 Mass today, and it's been going on all day," she said.
KDKA's Kym Gable at Lamb HQ:
Turns out, the reason is simple. The City of Pittsburgh is not in the current 18th District, which voted for a new congressman to replace Tim Murphy; although, it will be in the new 18th District.
Phones at the Allegheny County Elections Bureau have been ringing all day.
"It's been a steady stream of calls all day," said Elections Division Manager Mark Wolosik.
Wolosik says that from Sewickley to Monroeville, his office has taken calls from voters who thought they were in the 18th but are not -- at least not yet.
"You have to be in the 18th Congressional District," he says.
KDKA's Ralph Iannotti at Saccone HQ:
Some municipalities are split between two congressional districts.
"There's a polling place that has two election precincts. One of them is in the 14th Congressional District. The other is in the 18th Congressional District," said Wolosik.
No wonder so many voters were confused.
"I just think they should have made it more public knowledge. That way so many people wouldn't have come out today," said Bendick.