UPDATE: Low Voter Turnout Reported in Cranberry

Early this morning, Cranberry Township resident S. Lee Strayer positioned himself outside Hope Lutheran Church on Rowan Road to stump for current Cranberry Supervisor Bruce Mazzoni and Chairman John Skorupan in the primary election.

The gray skies continued to trickle throughout day and Strayer added about the same could be said for the flow of voters at the polls.

“I think they local election turnout is always low,” he said.

But, according to election worker Bea Barna, who was inside the church, that’s not the way it should be.

“People think its not as valuable and they don’t realize this is the one that affects them the most,” she said.

Locally, four residents are running for two six-year-terms on Cranberry Township’s Board of Supervisors. , , , and all are registered Republicans. No Democrats are vying for a seat on the board.

There also are to three four-year terms on the Seneca Valley School Board. Two of those races  -- in Region 2 and Region 7 -- are contested. Only one candidate, current board President Robert J. Hill, is running for a third seat in Region 3.

No matter whether it’s a local or presidential election, Charles McChesney said he always tries to vote.

“If you don’t, then you don’t have anything you should complain about,” he said.

At the Cranberry Township , Judge of Elections Earl Grubbs said Tuesday’s primary election voter turnout was nothing compared to the number of people who voted in last November’s general election. For that election, he said, 1,300 voters showed up. As of 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, he said, about 80 people had voted in the primary.

"It seems like with these off election cycles that you don't have a big interest like you do with the big general election," he said.

Standing outside the township municipal building, which housed three separate polling locations, Mazzoni blamed Tuesday’s rainy weather in part for the low voter turnout.

“It’s the slowest I’ve seen it,” he said. “I thought the county commissioner races would really bring out a lot more people.”

Skorupan, who also spent time at the different polling locations around Cranberry, said he was unsurprised by Tuesday’s low voter turnout.

“It’s a little slow, but that’s to be expected,” he said. “The local stuff isn’t as exciting. The weather doesn’t help either.”

If you haven’t cast your vote, it’s not too late. Polls are open until 8 p.m. For a complete list of Cranberry's polling locations, click