The 2020 primary election was one of the most expensive in Clarion County’s history.
Clarion County Commissioner Ed Heasley said Tuesday the cost of the June 2 primary was $77,000. Heasley said the election usually costs between $45,000 to $50,000.
The total includes paper costs, additional time for county employees and the cost of the pollworkers. Heasley said the state will reimburse the county $17,000 but that still was a net cost of $60,000 to the county.
This year’s primary also marked the first use of the new voting system in Clarion County. Mandated by the state, the county used a paper ballot that required new systems at precincts and tabulation machines at the county’s administration building where the votes were counted.
To avoid any possibility of a voter casting a ballot twice, extra county labor was used to verify each vote.
The intent of the mail-in voting was to increase voter turnout. That worked in Clarion County as Heasley said the turnout was 45 percent.
The breakdown for the Democratic Party showed there were 1,350 votes cast on election day at precincts. That meant that only 19.3 percent of the registered voters cast a ballot, but that changed drastically when the 284 absentee ballots, 11 provisional ballots and 1,208 mail-in ballots were added.
That more than doubled the percentage of voter turnout to 40.95 percent.
The totals also changed for the Republicans. On election day, the results showed that 35.9 percent (4,893 voters) of the Republicans actually voted. With the addition of 1,263 mail-in votes, 242 absentee ballots and 71 provisional votes, the percentage rose to 47.45 percent (6,466 votes) of the eligible Republican voters actually casting a ballot.
The county has 15 used vehicles and three used coolers to be auctioned. The coolers were left behind when the county purchased the former Holabaugh beer distributor building on the River Hill.
The vehicles range from a 1996 Chevy 1500 to a 2013 Ford Challenger. Included in the sale are two cars used by the Clarion County Sheriff’s Department. Two of the vehicles aren’t running.
The Holabaugh building on Route 322 is also the site of the auction. Commissioner Ted Tharan said the county would receive sealed bids on the vehicles, and the bids will be opened July 28.
The vehicles may be examined from 9 to 11 a.m July 11.
Tharan said a few “other items” might be included in the auction.