Voters in some parts of Bucks County will be casting ballots at new polling places starting with the May 20 municipal primary.
The Bucks County Board of Elections, composed of the three Bucks County Commissioners, unanimously approved on April 9 eight polling place changes in parts of Bristol, Doylestown, Middletown, Newtown and Springfield townships.
Elections chair Bob Harvie said a few of the changes were due to unavailability but the majority were from entities that no longer wanted to be polling locations on election days.
Chris and Sarah Candido, of Doylestown Borough, fill out their ballots at Salem United Church of Christ in Doylestown Borough during the primary election on Tuesday, May 16, 2023. The Bucks County Board of Elections on April 9 approved several polling place changes ahead of the May 20 primary.
“Obviously, we do rely on organizations and entities who have buildings that meet the criteria that we look for in a polling place to be part of the process … and we understand the rigors of going through that — and especially as elections have gotten more contentious — we have entities that simply aren’t interested in doing it anymore,” Harvie said last week.
Elections director Tyler Burns said during the meeting that the location changes were previously advertised and there had been no objections filed by the general public or any political committees.
The new polling places will be in effect for in-person voting for the upcoming primary election and beyond.
As with other polling places across Bucks County, some locations house multiple voting precincts and some contain only a single precinct.
Here’s a breakdown of the new polling places by voting precinct:
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Bristol Township 1-2: Keystone Elementary School at 1800 Keystone Street. Was previously at Vita Education Services.
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Bristol Township 1-3: Keystone Elementary School at 1800 Keystone Street. Was previously at the Croydon Fire Company.
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Bristol Township 4-3: Bucks County Community College – Lower Bucks Campus. Was previously at the Croydon Fire Company
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Doylestown Township 3: Bucks County Public Safety Training Center at 1760 S. Easton Road. Was previously at Pebble Hill Reformed Church.
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Doylestown Township 4: Bucks County Public Safety Training Center at 1760 S. Easton Road. Was previously at Pebble Hill Reformed Church.
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Middletown Township Lower 7: Sandburg Middle School at 30 Harmony Road. Was previously at Pearl S. Buck Elementary School.
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Newtown Township 5: Newtown Reformed Church at 206 Bucks Road. Was previously at New Life Christian Church.
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Springfield Township Middle: Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church at 2170 Route 212. Was previously at the Springfield Township Building.
A full list of polling places, including a link to the state’s online polling place locator tool can be found at the Board of Elections website at www.buckscounty.gov.
The county is also notifying voters affected by the changes by mail, according to statements made at the meeting and in a post on the elections board’s Facebook page.
Why are these polling places changing?
There are three general reasons listed on the county’s website for why each of the former polling places changed.
The Neshaminy School District closed the aging Pearl S. Buck Elementary School a few weeks after the 2024 presidential election in November.
The county’s website says the Vita Education Services building in Bristol Township is “no longer available.”
The other previous locations in Bristol, Doylestown, Newtown and Springfield all “no longer desired to be a polling place.”
While it’s unclear at this time the specific reasons why those locations decided to no longer act as polling places, election days have generally seen relatively higher turnout and higher tensions since 2020.
Other important election information
The Bucks County Board of Elections website has information on all the information voters need ahead of the May 20 primary, including how to register to vote, find a polling place and apply for a mail-in or absentee ballot.
Voters can also www.pavoterservices.pa.gov for similar services, including looking up your voter registration status to make sure you can vote in the primary.
May 5 is the final day to register to vote in time for the primary and the last day to apply for a mail ballot is May 13.
Polls open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on May 20.
Chris Ullery can be reached at cullery@couriertimes.com.
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Six Bucks County towns get polling place changes ahead of primary
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