Harrisburg, PA – In preparation for the May 16 primary election, Acting Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt reminded Pennsylvania voters they can find comprehensive voting information at vote.pa.gov. Ensuring that our elections are conducted freely and fairly, and that every eligible voter can make their voice heard, are top priorities of the Shapiro Administration.

 

“Vote.pa.gov is a one-stop shop for Pennsylvanians looking for trusted, official information about elections and voting,” Schmidt said. “There, they can verify their voter registration, locate their polling place, learn how to return their mail ballot, and even watch a video of how to cast a ballot on their county’s voting system.

 

“Every vote is precious,” Schmidt continued. “I encourage all eligible voters to make their voice heard in this primary. Municipal elections matter because officials who have direct impact on our daily lives – those who set property taxes, oversee schools, and make public safety and road construction decisions, for example – are on the ballot.”

 

New this year on vote.pa.gov are webpages fully translated into Spanish so Spanish-speaking voters can navigate available resources without having to maneuver through pages in English.

 

“This new Spanish version of vote.pa.gov represents an important milestone in the Shapiro Administration’s efforts to make the voting process accessible to all eligible Pennsylvania voters,” Schmidt said.

 

Only voters registered as Democrats or Republicans can vote in the primary to select nominees to represent their party in the Nov. 7 general election. However, all registered voters, regardless of party affiliation, will be able to vote May 16 on any local ballot questions. In addition, all voters registered in the following districts will be able to vote in the special elections being held May 16:

 

• 108th Legislative District for state representative in parts of Montour and Northumberland counties, and
• 163rd Legislative District for state representative in parts of Delaware County.

 

Mail ballot deadline

 

Schmidt also reminded voters that 5 p.m. today is the deadline to apply for a mail ballot for the primary. To date, more than 700,000 registered Pennsylvania voters already have applied for a no-excuse mail-in ballot, and more than 73,000 voters have applied for an absentee ballot.

 

Pennsylvanians voting by no-excuse mail-in or absentee ballot should return their voted ballot immediately. The deadline for county elections boards to receive voted mail ballots is 8 p.m. May 16. Postmarks by that time do not count.

 

Voters can also deliver their ballot in person to their county board of elections or to a designated ballot drop box or satellite office. Voters should check vote.pa.gov to determine if their county has ballot drop-box locations and to find the hours for their county elections office.

 

Voters who received an absentee or mail-in ballot may vote in person on Primary Day if they bring their unvoted mail ballot packet, including the outer envelope, with them to be voided. After they surrender their ballot materials and sign a declaration, they can then vote on their county’s voting system.

 

Voters who already successfully voted by mail are not eligible to vote in person on Primary Day.

 

Voters who requested a mail ballot and did not receive it or do not have it to surrender may vote by provisional ballot at their polling place. The provisional ballot will be reviewed by their county board of elections after Primary Day to determine whether it can be counted.

 

For voters who wish to vote in person at their polling place on Primary Day, polls will be open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. May 16.

Voters appearing at a polling place for the first time will need to show proper identification, which may be either photo or non-photo ID.

 

Voters may have assistance at the voting booth if they are unable to enter the booth or use the balloting system alone. The voter may choose who provides the assistance, although it may not be the voter’s employer, an agent of the employer, an officer or agent of the voter’s union, or the precinct’s Judge of Elections.

 

For complete information about voting in Pennsylvania, visit vote.pa.gov. Voters can also call the Department of State’s year-round election hotline, 1-800-VOTESPA (1-877-868-3772), or follow the hashtag #ReadytoVotePA on social media.

A koala sits in a tree at a koala park in Sydney, Australia, Friday, May 5, 2023. Australian scientists have begun vaccinating wild koalas against chlamydia in a pioneering field trial in New South Wales. The aim is to test a method for protecting the beloved marsupials against a widespread disease that causes blindness, infertility and death. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Australian scientists have begun vaccinating wild koalas against chlamydia in a pioneering field trial in New South Wales. The aim is to test a method for protecting the beloved marsupials against a widespread disease that causes blindness, infertility and death. The safety and effectiveness of the single-shot vaccine has previously been tested by vaccinating koalas individually brought into wildlife rescue centers for other afflictions. Now the scientists want to understand the impact of vaccinating a population of wild koalas. A 2020 government assessment found that koalas could become extinct in the wild by 2050 due to threats from disease, habitat loss and road collisions.

Campaign signs for Heather Boyd and Katie Ford are seen, Thursday, May 4, 2023, in Aldan, Pa. The two are running in a special election in the Philadelphia suburbs that will determine whether Democrats in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives will maintain control of the chamber or if Republicans will reclaim the majority control they held for 12 years until this January. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Democrats are clinging to a one-seat Pennsylvania House majority but that could change when voters fill a suburban Philadelphia vacancy next week. At stake in the Delaware County special election is whether freshman Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro will have at least one chamber to aid his agenda going into the final month of budget negotiations. The result could also affect a proposed constitutional amendment on abortion rights. Democrat Heather Boyd and Republican Katie Ford are seeking a seat that became open when Democratic Rep. Mike Zabel resigned in March, a week after a lobbyist accused him by name of sexual harassment.

FILE – Buffalo Bills’ Damar Hamlin speaks in front of University of Cincinnati Medical Center staff during the NFL Honors award show ahead of the Super Bowl 57 football game, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023, in Phoenix. Damar Hamlin will put the $9.1 million given to a GoFundMe campaign by well-wishers after his on-field collapse into his own nonprofit, the Chasing M’s Foundation.
The decision, first shared with The Associated Press Monday, May 8, 2023, is a first step in the 25-year-old’s plan for the unprecedented outpouring of support that he received after his heart stopped following a tackle during a Monday night football game in January. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin will use the $10 million given to online fundraising campaigns by well-wishers after his on-field collapse to fund his own nonprofit, the Chasing M’s Foundation. The decision begins the 25-year-old’s plan for the unprecedented outpouring of support that he received after his heart stopped following a tackle during a Monday night football game in January. Hamlin first started Chasing M’s Foundation in May 2020 when he was still a student playing with the University of Pittsburgh. His spokesperson said they applied last month for retroactive tax-exempt status for the nonprofit.

Gas prices are two cents lower in Western Pennsylvania this week at $3.778 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.
The average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline in Beaver County is $3.82.

The price for oil has dropped nearly $20 per barrel recently to the upper $60s, which has resulted in gas prices trending lower. The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline has fallen eight cents since last week to hit $3.53. Today’s national average is six cents less than a month ago and 78 cents lower than a year ago.

Story by Beaver County Radio news Staff. Published May 9, 2023 8:00 A.M.

(New Brighton, PA) The Beaver County Chamber of Commerce will hold a Grand renovation reveal at the Beaver County YMCA on third avenue in New Brighton. The ribbon cutting will take place at 1 pm on Wednesday.

Story by Beaver County Radio news Staff. Published May 9, 2023 7:58 A.M.

(Darlington Township, PA) Pennsylvania State police are searching for a person who left a dead dog on the side of the road in Darlington. Troopers responded to the 800 block of Cannelton Road to investigate a large black trash bag that was emmitting an odor. A deceased dog was found inside the bag.
Pennsylvania State Police in Beaver ask anybody with information to contact them at 724-773-7400.

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

Though the final budget won’t be cemented until late June, preparations for it were cemented at the New Brighton’s school board meeting on Monday evening. The board placed a resolution on the agenda for approval to adopt a proposed final budget at the May 22 voting meeting–though what the details of that are remain somewhat ambiguous.

“It’s still a giant question mark,” stated Superintendent Dr. Joseph Guarino. “We don’t really know any more today than we did back at the beginning of March when the Governor released it. There has been absolutely nothing out of Harrisburg, so we don’t know if the numbers released are accurate, if they might go up or they might go down, we really don’t know much of anything at this point. [It’s] not uncommon for this time of year.”

Guarino added that while there are discussions about what the budget could contain–including a potential millage increase for the next year–but reminded the public that the proposed budget is simply that…proposed. “It is just a proposed one,” Guarino stated, “so what we approve at the end of May can be changed as much as we want between the end of May and the end of June.”

Also added to the list of resolutions at Monday night’s meeting were approvals for board member Bernadette Mattica to be appointed as the board’s treasurer, and three submissions of applications for Title I, Title II and Title IV for the 2023-24 school year. Several contract renewals are also set to be voted on at the May 22 meeting, including a $3,500 one-year renewal with Medic Rescue and the “All Sports & Voluntary Student Accident Insurance” for the 2023-24 school year at a total of $7,900.

The May 22 voting meeting is scheduled for 7:30 PM at the “Little Theatre” in the high school.

FILE – Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks on the U.S.-China economic relationship at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, Thursday, April 20, 2023, in Washington. Yellen said Sunday that there are “no good options” for the United States to avoid an economic “calamity” if Congress fails to raise the nation’s borrowing limit of $31.381 trillion in the coming weeks. She did not rule out President Joe Biden bypassing lawmakers and acting on his own to try to avert a first-ever federal default. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A union of government employees has sued Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and President Joe Biden to try to stop them from complying with the law that limits the government’s total debt, which the lawsuit contends is unconstitutional. The lawsuit comes just weeks before the government could default on the federal debt if Congress fails to raise the borrowing limit. Financial markets have become increasingly nervous about the potential for default, with economists warning that a failure to raise the debt limit could trigger a global financial crisis. On Tuesday, Biden will meet with the top Republicans and Democrats in Congress to seek a potential breakthrough. The two sides remain far apart..