Voter turnout in Lehigh Valley lighter than past primaries

Contested Republican congressional and State House races brought out some voters

Voters walk through the polling place inside Allentown 11th Ward 4th District at Seegers Union at Muhlenberg College on Tuesday. / Photos by Donna Fisher

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with past presidential primary turnouts.

“Everyone has an opinion, and what greater way to make your voice heard. Your vote counts. It matters.” 

That’s what Jan Krieger, a lifelong Wilson Borough resident, had to say as she headed to vote in Tuesday’s primary election.

It was a sentiment echoed by voters who spoke to Armchair Lehigh Valley outside polling places.

“I vote in every election. I live right here,” said one woman, gesturing to her apartment at Shiloh Manor, which is near her polling place at Shiloh Chapel in Easton’s South Side.  

View: A gallery of primary day photos from Donna Fisher

Turnout was lighter than primary elections past. Both Lehigh and Northampton Counties reported roughly 22% of registered voters cast a ballot. That’s compared to other presidential primaries in the Lehigh Valley that saw numbers ranging from 28% to 36% in 2020 and 2016. 

With incumbent Democrat Joe Biden and Republican Donald Trump already sewing up their party’s presidential nominations, there were few big contests to lure people to cast votes. The U.S. Senate races for both parties were also uncontested.

Statewide, there were primary contests for attorney general, auditor general and treasurer. 

The only Lehigh Valley-wide race occurred in the 7th Congressional District where Republican Ryan Mackenzie ended up defeating Kevin Dellicker and Maria Montero for their party’s nomination.

Republican congressional candidate Kevin Dellicker speaks to a voter outside the Islamic Education Center on Tilghman Street in Upper Macungie’s 5th District on Tuesday.

Vickie Zmarzley, 66, of Northampton, voted for Dellicker, a business owner and veteran who lives in Heidelberg Township. Zmarzley used to own a small business.

“I want to see business people get in and change the economy. They’re the only people that are going to do it,” she said.

Support for Dellicker’s business background was echoed by numerous Republicans outside the Northampton Memorial Community Center on Tuesday morning. They also liked that Dellicker was a member of the National Guard. 

“They all kind of represented similar viewpoints,” Mike Rogers, 48, said of the three GOP congressional candidates, but he thought Dellicker’s military background set him apart. 

At Broughal Middle School in South Side Bethlehem, George, who asked we only use his first name, 32, voted for Montero because “she’s the only one I didn’t hear negative campaign ads [from].” 

There were only a few voters at the Nazareth Borough Council building mid-afternoon. Vittorio Varriale, 57, said he voted for Mackenzie because he shared similar values, like closing the border in Mexico to immigrants.

In front of Butz Elementary School in Nazareth, John Schray, 58, a registered Republican, declined to vote for a candidate for the 7th race. 

“I have three daughters, and I define myself as a feminist, so I’m struggling with who to vote for in the Republican Party.“ 

He said he cast an “anti-Donald Trump” vote for Nikki Haley despite Trump securing the nomination.

Jacqueline Sham of Allentown smiles after voting at Agricultural Hall in Allentown’s 11th Ward 3rd District on Tuesday. / Photo by Donna Fisher

There were only three state House primary races in the Lehigh Valley – in the 131st, 136th and 183rd Districts. None of the three state senator seats were up for reelection. 

Voting picked up after 8 a.m. at College Hill Presbyterian Church in Easton’s Third Ward as parents delivered children to the church’s nursery school and March Elementary School across the street. 

The polling site is part of the state’s 136th House District where Democratic incumbent Robert Freeman easily fended off a primary challenge from Easton City Councilwoman Taiba Sultana. 

Bruce Wall, 70, of Easton, said he knows Freeman and was voting for him because he “seems like a very conscientious, reasonable guy.”

Another Democrat, Amy Wolff, 45, of Easton, also voted for him because she knows him personally. “He’s been a big supporter of Easton things,” she added.

At least one College Hill Democrat, who declined to be identified, said he wrote “uncommitted a lot” so voting took awhile. “As a voter, I was not given good choices,” he said, referring to  “certain overseas events” as the reason. 

A voter completes her ballot at the polling place inside Muhlenberg College’s Seegers Union on Tuesday.

Also impacting turnout at the polls were the thousands of people who had already voted by mail. As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, Lehigh and Northampton counties saw 39,662 mail-in ballots returned by Democrats and Republicans. A total of 53,135 had applied to vote by mail.

The number of returned mail-in ballots is slightly more than 10% of the 375,211 people registered as Democrats or Republicans in the two counties. Only members of those two parties can vote for their respective party candidates in primaries. 

Voting across the Valley seemed to go smoothly without major issues unlike the 2023 municipal election in Northampton County where a “clerical error” reversed votes in ballot printouts on a judicial retention question. 

This year, the Pennsylvania Department of State directed counties to plan for all voting scenarios in its tests and to have a sufficient supply of emergency paper ballots available at polling places on Election Day.

Sean LaSalle, left, who represents Ryan Mackenzie, and Michael Madtes, representing Kevin Dellicker, promote their candidates to voter Maureen Rath in Wescosville on Tuesday.