Voters in parts of Pittsburgh and the entirety of Wilkinsburg will fill two immediate openings in the state Legislature on Tuesday, by electing replacements for Ed Gainey and Jake Wheatley.
The winning candidates in Tuesday’s special elections for the 19th and 24th districts — territory that stretches from Marshall-Shadeland, through Downtown to Lincoln-Lemington and Homewood, then over to Wilkinsburg — will serve in Harrisburg until November, the end of the current legislative session.
Many of the voters who will cast ballots in these races still find themselves represented by Mr. Gainey and Mr. Wheatley, only in a different capacity; Mr. Gainey is mayor of Pittsburgh, and Mr. Wheatley is his chief of staff.
But who they’ll send to the massive state Legislature at a time when Pennsylvania faces many pressing issues will come down to the ballot box on Tuesday — and that box, in dark blue territory, has sent Democrats to Harrisburg for years.
The race for the 24th, Mr. Gainey’s old seat, pits Democrat Martell Covington against Republican Todd Elliott Koger. Mr. Covington is a lifelong Homewood resident who serves as a legislative aide to state Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa; Mr. Koger, who has run as a Democrat in this district before, is a Wilkinsburg resident, educator and author.
The 19th District, and its 43,000 registered voters, will only see one name on the ballot: Democrat Aerion Abney. He’s a social worker and voting rights advocate running unopposed. But, as with any election, there could be a successful write-in candidacy.
All 176 precincts across the two districts will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, and any voters in line at 8 will be permitted to cast their ballot.
Voters can verify their registration status here, and locate their polling place here. Here are lists of participating precincts in the 19th and in the 24th districts.
As of Monday, 8,752 voters had requested a mail-in ballot and 4,112 had returned them to the Allegheny County elections division.
For the more than 4,600 voters who haven’t yet submitted theirs, there are still options before the 8 p.m. deadline. The best option is to return the ballot physically at the Allegheny County Office Building at 542 Forbes Ave, on the first floor. Voters can enter through the entrance on Ross Street, and the hours are Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Voted mail-in ballots cannot be physically returned to polling places, but voters can choose to surrender their mail-in ballot and declaration envelope to poll workers and vote with a new ballot in-person. If a voter has lost their ballot documentation, they may be required to vote a provisional ballot, according to the county.
For most of the voters and the two Democratic candidates, there won’t be much time to relax before they have to do this all over again.
These special elections are to determine the temporary seat holders; the full elections for both seats, determining who the nominees are that will serve full terms beginning in January 2023 and ending in 2025, will be on May 17 along with all the other primaries. They’ll be held on the new legislative maps, too.
Mr. Covington filed to run for a full term in the 24th. He’ll face a crowded Democratic primary field that includes Will Anderson, La’Tasha Mayes, Randall Taylor and Pearlina Story.
In the 19th, Mr. Abney will be up against Glenn Grayson, pastor of Wesley Center A.M.E. Zion Church, in the primary for a full term.
No Republicans are filed to run in either district for the full terms, including Mr. Koger.
Julian Routh: jrouth@post-gazette.com; Twitter @julianrouth
First Published: April 5, 2022, 9:30 a.m.
Updated: April 5, 2022, 2:08 p.m.
