About 1.4 Million More Votes Cast For Pa. Governor Nominees This Year

Outside the polls Tuesday night (Nov. 6) at Lower Pottsgrove Elementary School

By Ed Mahon, PA Post
Republished by The Sanatoga Post

HARRISBURG PA – So how big was 2018 election turn-out in Pennsylvania?

Here’s one measure:

In the governor’s race, more than 4.9 million people cast a vote for Democratic incumbent Tom Wolf, Republican challenger Scott Wagner, or one of the other two candidates on the ballot. And some ballots still remain to be counted.

That 4.9 million figure, based on unofficial returns to the Pennsylvania Department of State, is larger than recent elections for governor. It’s about 1.4 million more votes than were cast for the gubernatorial nominees in 2014.

Here’s a look at vote totals for nominated candidates for governor:

• 2002 – Nearly 3.6 million votes cast for governor;
• 2006 – Nearly 4.1 million votes;
• 2010 – Nearly 4 million votes; and
• 2014 – About 3.5 million votes.

Department of State figures don’t include write-in votes. Also, its online results don’t go back further than 2000.

The Pennsylvania Department of State was still waiting on turnout figures for all counties late last week. But looking at total votes in the governor’s race gives an idea of just how much enthusiasm there was in this election compared to most mid-terms.

The turnout was still less than the 2016 presidential election, when about 6.1 million votes were cast in Pennsylvania for presidential nominees.

Photo by The Post Publications;
graphic from the Montgomery County Voter Services Department

Editor’s Note: The Post Publications is a partner with PA Post, a digital-first, citizen-focused news organization intended to “hold Pennsylvania’s government accountable to its citizens.” It was launched in September (2018) by Harrisburg PA-based WITF Public Media. The Post Publications re-publishes PA Post stories it believes has specific relevance for its readers, and on occasion may offer its reporting to PA Post as well. For more stories from PA Post, sign up for its newsletter here