Campaign signs at Camp Curtin Middle School, a polling place.
Today, residents will decide who will be Harrisburg’s top official for the next four years.
Voters headed to the polls for Tuesday’s municipal general election to cast a vote for either incumbent Mayor Wanda Williams or city Treasurer Dan Miller for mayor, among other city and county offices.
While several polls were slow, with a low number of voters trickling in, Second City Church in Midtown had a line at the door at open time and a steady stream after.
Campaign workers there said that 205 people had voted by noon, a number that they said seemed higher than usual.
Barbara, a resident who asked that her last name be omitted, exited the building around noon, saying that she cast her vote for Miller.
Miller is running on the Republican ticket, although he is a registered Democrat, against Williams, the Democratic nominee. Miller lost to Williams in the Democratic primary, but gained enough Republican votes to become their nominee. Miller has characterized the general election as a “runoff” election between himself and Williams, whom he lost to by about 80 votes in the primary.
Lewis Butts Jr., who has run for mayor several times, is running as a write-in candidate.
“We need a person who’s experienced in management and budgeting,” Barbara said of Miller, whom she voted for.
Several other residents shared similar reasons for voting for Miller.
“I’ve liked Dan for years. I think he’s a lot more fiscally responsible,” said Carrie Baker, who voted at Camp Curtin Middle School in Uptown.
Also at Camp Curtin, a group of three voters said they voted for Williams because they believe she knows the city better and they’ve seen her in their neighborhood regularly.
“We think her priorities are right,” said Dawn, who declined to provide her last name. “I think she does a great job.”
Another resident, Carter, said he voted for Williams because he didn’t want Miller to win, having heard negative things about him through friends.
At Lincoln Elementary School in Allison Hill, about 40 people had voted by a little before noon and at the Scottish Rite Cathedral Uptown, about 50 people had voted around 11 a.m., about on par with typical numbers, poll workers said.
TheBurg recently interviewed dozens of residents and found that many voters were either disengaged in the mayoral race or still undecided on who to vote for. Some cited “political tiredness” or explained they would likely vote for one candidate simply because they didn’t like the other.
Four Democratic Harrisburg City Council candidates are also running unopposed for four seats. Incumbents Jocelyn Rawls, Ralph Rodriguez and Ausha Green are on the ballot, with candidate Rob Lawson, who served on council previously.
Karen Balaban is running unopposed as the Democratic candidate for Harrisburg controller.
Polls are open until 8 p.m. For a list of Harrisburg polling places, click here. For election results, click here.
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