The Herald's Guide to the 2019 Primary Election

This is the Morrisons Cove Herald’s guide to the 2019 Primary Election. The Herald’s election information begins on Page A-6, then on Page B-3 through Page B-7.

The guide includes information about the candidates for local offices. In addition to candidates, there are other matters of Cove-area interest on the May ballot, including alcohol sales questions for Roaring Spring and the Altoona-Blair County Airport.

Candidates for local offices were asked to contact the Herald to provide information about themselves and their positions. Not all candidates provided information.

In a primary election, each political party selects its candidates to run for office during the general election. The candidates who get the highest number of votes in the primary election go on to run in the general election. Voters also vote for their party’s officers during a primary election.

In Pennsylvania, you can only vote for the candidates in the same political party you have named in your voter registration. For example, if you registered to vote as a member of the Republican Party, then you can vote in the Republican primary, but not the Democratic primary.

All voters can vote on constitutional amendments, ballot questions, and any special election contests held at the same time as a primary election.

Individuals wishing to register to vote in the May 21 primary must be:

• A citizen of the United States for at least one month before the primary.

• A resident of Pennsylvania and of the election district in which the individual plans to register and vote for at least 30 days before the primary.

• At least 18 years of age on or before the date of the primary.

Primary elections

Primary elections in Pennsylvania are held on the third Tuesday of May in most years.

In presidential years, the primary election is held on the fourth Tuesday of April. This primary election is on May 21, 2019. Polls will be open on election day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The last day to register to vote was April 22, 2019. The last day to request an absentee ballot was May 14, 2019.

Voter and election information is available at VotesPA.com.

Pennsylvania’s Acting Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar said that VotesPA.com is “a user-friendly, one-stop voter information and registration site.”

Pennsylvanians can find their voting district, polling place and county election office on the site and register online to vote or update an existing registration

Any Pennsylvanian who believes that he or she is already registered to vote can check the registration status at http://www.votespa.com/status.

The Blair County Board of Elections offers voters to visit the Elections/Voter Registration webpage on the Blair County Website (www.blairco.org) to use the “Find my Polling Place” application. This application will allow voters to enter their address and locate their polling place on a map.

The application will identify the voter’s precinct and list the name and address of the polling place.

The next general election is Nov. 5, 2019.

Sample ballots are available for Blair County at http://www.blairco.org/Dept/Elections/Pages/SampleBallots.aspx

Sample ballots are available for Bedford County at https://www.bedfordcountypa.org/departments/elections/sample_ballots.php