Laurels & lances: Selection and election

Laurel: To reaching a milestone. The slow march to justice for the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting achieved one goal Wednesday when the jury pool was settled. It took four weeks to whittle down hundreds of prospective jurors called for possible service in the death penalty case.

The pool stands at 69 people after those dismissed for hardship or for cause, such as being adamantly opposed to the death penalty or believing defendant Robert Bowers, 50, of Baldwin automatically should be executed.

The process continues. That 69-member pool needs to be narrowed to 12 jurors and six alternates. That will take specific challenges from the prosecution and defense.

However, it is the first hurdle cleared along the road to a trial that is expected to extend into summer. That is important in a case that has been dragging on since October 2018.

Lance: To low participation. On Tuesday, Pennsylvanians went to the ballot box for a primary that gave them choices for county, municipal, school board and judicial races.

The year between the midterms and the presidential elections always is hard for engagement. You don’t have the big, splashy campaigns. You don’t have the cable news talking heads giving nonstop coverage to critical seats. All you have are your neighbors trying to do the jobs that need to be done in your backyard.

That is reflected in turnout. Pennsylvania voters showed up in good numbers for the gubernatorial race in November 2022, with 54.68% of registered voters casting a ballot. Statewide, it was just 27% for Tuesday’s primary.

In Westmoreland County, it was higher — barely — at 29%. In Allegheny, it was even a touch higher at 30%. But “higher than the state average” isn’t great when that number is so low.

It’s even worse when you consider that heavily polarized politics in the two counties means many races were decided in the primary.