Voters will go to the polls Tuesday with a slew of political races on the ballot.

Allegheny County will be picking a Democratic nominee in a six-candidate race for county executive, while the county’s longtime district attorney is facing possibly his toughest primary challenge in more than two decades. There are three contested primary races for Allegheny County Council.

In Westmoreland County, Republicans will pick two nominees from a field of five candidates for county commissioner.

Judicial candidates will be nominated at every level of the state’s judicial system, including state Supreme Court, and there are numerous contested races for local government and school board positions.

Here’s what you need to know going into Tuesday.

Countywide races in Allegheny County

Six Democrats are seeking their party’s nomination in a race for Allegheny County executive. On the Republican ticket, former PNC executive Joe Rockey does not face a primary challenge.

Term-limited Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald is finishing his third and final term in office.

Democratic candidates include Pittsburgh Public Schools board member Theresa Sciulli Colaizzi of Greenfield, former County Councilman Dave Fawcett of Oakmont, state Rep. Sara Innamorato of Lawrenceville, Pittsburgh Controller Michael Lamb of Mt. Washington, activist William Parker of Garfield, and Allegheny County Treasurer John Weinstein of Kennedy.

The top four candidates — Fawcett, Innamorato, Lamb and Weinstein — have raised more than $3 million, a record for a county executive primary. Parker and Sciulli Colaizzi raised less than $100 apiece, according to the latest campaign filings.

Related:

• 2023 primary day election guide: Details on races, candidates, issues in Western Pa. • Election Day: What you need to know • School board races serve as culture war battlegrounds

Fawcett, 64, a lawyer and former Republican who switched parties and voted for former President Barack Obama twice, has touted his legal experience in facing off against coal baron Don Blankenship. He said he wants to create a countywide riverfront park and focus on improving the county’s criminal justice system.

Innamorato, 37, is a state legislator who came into office in a progressive wave in 2018. She has worked to help pass the state’s new Whole Home Repairs law. She has promised to hold industrial polluters accountable and wants to use the county’s human services department to create a bigger social safety net for residents.

Lamb, 60, the city controller since 2008, has led efforts to increase transparency in city government and lobbied to have large nonprofits such as UPMC pay their share of taxes. He said he wants to provide all county residents with free tuition at the Community College of Allegheny County and bolster ethics rules in county government.

Weinstein, 59, has been county treasurer for more than 20 years, guiding the county’s investment portfolio and building many relationships with local leaders. He has largely focused his campaign on increasing public safety efforts, particularly in Downtown Pittsburgh, and touts his support from animal rights groups.

The Democratic primary race for district attorney pits incumbent Stephen A. Zappala Jr., 66, of Fox Chapel against chief public defender Matt Dugan, 43, of Moon Township. The candidates have contrasting styles and messages about how the county’s top prosecutor should be conducting business.

Dugan has worked in the public defender’s office for nearly 16 years and was appointed chief public defender in 2020 by Fitzgerald. His campaign has criticized Zappala for increasing crime rates and said the district attorney should be spending less time prosecuting low-level crime to free up resources to tackle violent crimes.

Zappala has served as district attorney since 1998 and has touted his role in increasing police body camera use and has warned against embracing progressive criminal justice reforms, believing they lead to increased crime. His campaign has said he will protect abortion and LGBTQ rights in the county and wouldn’t prosecute anti-abortion laws if they were enacted by the state government.

Allegheny County Council has three competitive primaries, including a countywide Democratic at-large race between incumbent Bethany Hallam of Pittsburgh’s North Side and small-business owner Joanna Doven of Squirrel Hill.

Doven has public relations experience for local developers and worked in former Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s office. She wants to improve mental health services in the county and said local legislators should do more to boost development to ensure the city and region sees more economic growth.

Hallam defeated a longtime incumbent councilor in 2019 and has since won a handful of progressive victories on council, including banning fracking at county parks. She wants to increase the minimum wage for county workers to $20 an hour, has advocated better treatment of incarcerated people at the county jail, and wants more affordable housing near major transit centers.

Races to watch in the Alle-Kiski Valley

The seat for judge is up for grabs in Magisterial District 10-1-04, which includes Lower Burrell, Upper Burrell, Allegheny Township, Vandergrift, Hyde Park, East Vandergrift, West Leechburg and Oklahoma Borough.

Both candidates have cross-filed and will appear on both the Republican and Democratic ballots.

Incumbent Judge Cheryl Peck Yakopec, 70, of Lower Burrell is a Democrat has served for 25 years and is touting her experience. She says she wants to lower costs for people involved in court proceedings.

Her opponent, Leslie Uncapher Zellers, 56, of Allegheny Township, is a Republican and said she believes it is time for a change. She is a longtime attorney and former assistant district attorney in Westmoreland County.

In the magisterial district that encompasses Harrison, Brackenridge, Tarentum, Fawn and East Deer, incumbent Carolyn Saldari Bengel is being challenged by Thomas Babinsack. Both are Harrison residents.

Bengel has served as the area’s district justice for 30 years. She previously worked in the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office and as an Allegheny County assistant public defender.

Babinsack is an attorney and part-time business manager for Guardian Angels Parish. He is a retired Lower Burrell police officer and a military veteran.

In Arnold, a mayoral contest is pitting incumbent Joe Bia II, 48, against Shannon Santucci, 59.

Bia, a former borough councilman, has touted his record of paving roads, removing blight and increasing drug enforcement. He has aligned himself with council candidates Mike Barbiaux and Debbie Conwell.

Santucci was a police officer in Arnold for 11 years and was, briefly, the city’s first female chief. She runs an outreach ministry part-time. Santucci has not sought elected office before and said she wanted to bring a new voice to borough government. She is running with council candidate Aaron Moore.

In the most heavily contested school board race, 11 candidates are running for Highlands School Board, which covers Brackenridge, Fawn, Harrison and Tarentum. Region 1 features four cross-filed candidates vying for two nominations in the Republican and Democratic primaries. In Region 2, two cross-filed candidates and a Republican are vying for one nomination in each party. Region 3 has four cross-filed candidates vying for two nominations in each party.

Races to watch in Westmoreland

The GOP race for Westmoreland County commissioner is the county’s only contested countywide primary race.

Republican incumbents Sean Kertes and Doug Chew face challenges from Patricia Fritz, Paul Kosko and John Ventre. All three challengers were defeated by Kertes and Chew in the 2019 primary.

Democrats Ted Kopas, a former county commissioner, and Sydney Hovis are unopposed in the Democratic primary.

Incumbent row officers Treasurer Jared Squires, Controller Jeffrey Balzer, Sheriff James Albert, Register of Wills Sherry Magretti Hamilton and Recorder of Deeds Frank Schiefer are unopposed in the Republican primary. Democrat Tommy John Hamacher, who is running for sheriff, is the lone Democratic candidate seeking a row office position on the primary ballot.

Anticipated turnout

Allegheny County election division manager David Voye said turnout for the primary is expected to hit about 30%.

This anticipated turnout might be similar to the last municipal primary in 2021, but it is a big increase compared to before 2020, when no excuse, mail-in voting was established in Pennsylvania. In the 2017 and 2019 primaries, Allegheny County voter turnout was about 17%.

As of Thursday, nearly 60% of mail-in ballots had been returned. Democrats have returned more than 54,000 mail-in ballots, and Republicans have submitted about 8,500. There were more than 106,000 mail-in ballots requested throughout the county.

Westmoreland County officials predict that turnout there will reach as high as 37%. Election Bureau Director Greg McCloskey said past primaries have not featured heavy voter turnouts and the lack of major, high-profile races is expected to depress vote totals this year.

The county sent out fewer than 24,000 mail-in ballots ahead of the primary and, as of Friday, about 14,000 had been returned. About 70% of the mail-in ballots were requested by Democratic voters, McCloskey said.

The election bureau will have extended hours on Monday and Tuesday. The drop box at the rear entrance of the courthouse will be open until 6 p.m. Monday and until 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. The election bureau offices will stay open until 8 p.m. both days.

How and where to vote

Voters can locate their polling place on the Pennsylvania Department of State website by entering their county, municipality and address.

Polling places will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday. Voters who are in line at their polling place by 8 p.m. should stay in line, as they are eligible to vote.

Voters also can vote by mail, but the application deadline to request a mail-in ballot has passed for the primary. Voters already in possession of mail-in ballots must have their ballots turned in by 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Elections officials said voters using the postal service should mail their ballots several days before the primary. Officials said mail-in voters should place their completed ballot in the secrecy envelope, and that secrecy envelope cannot be marked in any way. Voters also must sign and date their outer declaration envelope, with the date the ballot is turned in.

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