Local Election Polls Short on Voters

Peter Choate, Horsham's judge of elections, said his polling district, one of two in the , had seen its "busy time" before the polls even opened.

"We had two people waiting," Choate said Tuesday morning, referring to the time between 6:30 a.m. and just before the polls opened at 7 a.m. "We had three people immediately after that."

Following that, Choate said turnout in Horsham's largest polling district of 18 - totaling 811 registered voters - was almost nonexistent. 

The after work timeframe could pick up, he said, particularly because of Horsham's concerning bidding thresholds for township purchases. For the past 15 years,  has been able to make purchases up to $4,000 without requirements. The ballot questions asks voters to consider amending the charter to increase that amount to $10,000.

Horsham Republican Committeeman Bill Donnelly said the attorney general race between Patrick Murphy and Kathleen Kane should bring people to the polls. 

"They've been fighting," Donnelly said of political attack ads. "There's no race on the Republican side."

Yet, Rick Santorum's name is still on the ballot for President of the United States even though he announced two weeks ago his desire to suspend his campaign.

"It's a throw-away vote," Horsham Republican Committeeman Andrew Johnson said. "This should probably be a slow day."

Nearly vacant polls were also commonplace in Hatboro. Hatboro Borough Councilman David Rich, who also serves as a Republican Committeeman, said 17 voters had come out to vote at the  from 7 a.m. through roughly 9:30 a.m. 

Hatboro's Judge of Elections, Eileen Dorley, said she had expected more from the borough's second largest of four total voting districts. 

"It's slow," Dorley said.