Voter turnout high in Berks
Tuesday, Nov. 8, was a big day in Pennsylvania, as voters headed out to the polls to cast ballots in some widely watched races.
The election featured contests for governor and U.S. Senate that have drawn national attention, as well as crucial races for the U.S. House of Representatives, state Senate and state House of Representatives.
Interest was high, and in Berks County so was turnout.
According to data from the county, participation in Tuesday’s election exceeded numbers seen in other recent midterm elections.
A total of 154,844 ballots were cast, representing just under 58% of the county’s 267,337 registered voters.
In the 2018 midterm, turnout was slightly below that at just under 57%. And in 2014 turnout was only about 42%.
County spokeswoman Stephanie Weaver said the amount of national attention paid to this year’s election in Pennsylvania, as well as the hefty amount of campaign advertising on television and arriving in people’s mailboxes, likely contributed to the county’s high turnout.
“This was a big election,” she said. “The turnout numbers show that our voters wanted to come and be a part of it.”
The majority of Berks voters cast their ballots in person, with a total of 126,241 people voting at polling locations Tuesday. That’s more than 81% of the total votes cast.
A total of 28,603 votes by mail ballots were cast.
While the number of mail ballots was far lower than of in-person votes, Weaver said she believes the availability of voting by mail helped boost Berks’ overall numbers.
“I definitely think that mail ballots help more people participate,” she said.
The turnout numbers are still likely to change a bit. Vote totals available Wednesday do not include all overseas, military or provisional ballots. They also do not include a handful of damaged mail ballots.
The deadline for the county to receive overseas and military ballots is Nov. 15. It was not immediately clear Wednesday how many provisional votes had been cast.