By MARK SCOLFORO (Associated Press)
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Certain of the most populous counties in Pennsylvania are moving polling places out of synagogues and other Jewish buildings. This is due to a stalemate in the Legislature last year regarding proposals to change the date of next month’s primary election, so it wouldn't fall on the first day of Passover.
In Allegheny County, which includes Pittsburgh, election officials have moved 16 polling places from six locations, including synagogues and a Jewish community center. The primary election is on April 23.
Allegheny County spokesperson Abigail Gardner said the number of polling locations being moved because of the holiday is only a small portion of the total, and all are expected to return to their previous locations in November.
“It is normal for us to have to find new polling places every year — with over 1,300 precincts, it is natural for any number of them to change ownership, close, or become unavailable due to a special event,” Gardner said Friday. Voters in affected precincts will receive letters, and signs will be posted at the former locations providing directions to the new sites.
Polling places were also changed in the Philadelphia area. A 2019 study revealed that the city and its four “collar” counties combined had nearly 200,000 Jewish households, consisting of about 450,000 people.
Philadelphia relocated four synagogue polling places, all of which had hosted voting for at least the past six years. Bucks County, a suburb of Philadelphia, is expected to consider relocating a synagogue polling place on Monday.
In Montgomery County, the most populous suburb of Philadelphia, eight of the 17 polling places that were moved on Thursday had been situated in synagogues.
Montgomery County Commissioner Neil Makhija, a Democrat who heads its elections board, said Friday it was “unfortunate and disrespectful” that state lawmakers were unable to find a suitable alternative to April 23.
“It’s like putting Election Day on Easter Sunday or Christmas. People are either with family or they’re worshipping. And sure, there are going to be people who vote no matter what,” said Makhija, a Hindu man whose wife is Jewish. “But there will also be people who won’t.”
Pennsylvania law typically schedules most primaries in May, but in presidential election years, such as 2024, they are held on the fourth Tuesday in April. Proposals to change this year’s primary date, partly to avoid the Passover conflict but also to be more relevant to the presidential contest, were debated last summer and fall.
The Senate voted overwhelmingly in September to move the primary to March 19, but that proposal faced opposition in the Democratic-controlled House. In October, the House, with all Republicans opposed, voted to hold the primary on April 2, but that proposal failed to advance in the Senate.
By that time, county officials responsible for conducting elections argued that there wasn't enough time to make a change, given the implications for petition circulation as well as the need to secure voting locations and poll workers for a different date.
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This article has been updated to clarify that the locations were changed by elections officials, not by a vote.
