Special election draws complaints from voters outside the district

The hotly contested race in the 18th Congressional District drew plenty of voters to Tuesday’s special election, but not all of them voted, often because they weren’t residents of the district.

Allegheny County spokeswoman Amie Downs said election officials have gotten numerous complaints from citizens who believed they were being denied their right to vote for Democrat Conor Lamb or Republican Rick Saccone.

RELATED: Complete coverage of the 18th district special election

“We continue to receive calls from voters who are confused as to which district they are in, or upset because they could not vote today,” she said in a statement. “Additionally, many polling places which are not in the district have posted signs which are not accurate, or confusing, causing other calls.”

Among the complainants were voters in Sewickley, which isn’t in the 18th District.

A thornier situation is taking place in Monroeville, where several wards are split between congressional districts. To vote in the special election, residents must be in one of these areas: Ward 2 – Districts 1 and 3; Ward 3 – District 2; Ward 4 – District 1 and 2; or Ward 5 – District 3.

Downs said elections manager Mark Wolosik expects more than 30 percent of the nearly 215,000 eligible voters in the county to go to the polls.

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