A steady stream of voters did their civic duty on Election Day.

About 100 people cast their ballots at the Franklin Township Fire Company as of 9 a.m. Tuesday.

“We’ve had a steady voter turnout,” said Stacy Sheckler, judge of elections for the Long Run District.

Franklin resident Aaron Rogal said he had a lot of reasons for wanting to vote.

“To get things back on the right track,” Rogal said. “To get spending back under control.”

However, Rogal said he isn’t particularly fond of the actual physical voting system.

“We can’t get our receipt; it’s completely based on trust,” he said. “You have no idea after you walk out of here; I just think it used to be a lot easier the old way.”

Fellow Franklin resident Bill Kunkle said that perhaps now more than ever, “It’s important that we get out and vote.”

“I think our country’s at a little bit of a crossroads,” Kunkle said. “There has to be more control of what people can do on these public ads.”

A few miles away, 88 citizens had voted just before 10 a.m. at the Mahoning Valley Fire Department.

“We’ve been going right along; no problems,” said Gil Walters, majority inspector for New Mahoning, District No. 36. “It’s been fairly heavy; we’ve been steady.”

Mahoning Township residents Louis and Judy Lisella said they vote each year.

Louis said he believes a change is needed, and cited the economy, the borders, spending, and the price of fuel as his chief concerns.

Those who take the time to vote have the power to make a difference, according to Cole Anderson, of Mahoning Township.

“I feel like it’s really important to vote; I feel like you can’t have an opinion if you’re not out there voting,” Anderson said. “I feel like Pennsylvania is an important place to vote, which makes my vote feel more important.”

Lisa Dart, director of the Carbon County Election Bureau, said that no problems were reported at the polls.

She also noted as of 3:30 p.m., precincts were seeing high turnouts of voters.

At 1:45 p.m., Nesquehoning Borough west, located in the recreation center, reported just under 300 voters had already cast their vote.

In West Penn Township, judges of elections reported heavy turnout and no problems.

Alan Ross Parker said that for the first time he saw voters lined up before the 7 a.m. poll opening.

As of about 12:30 p.m., he said, there were 377 voters in Precinct 1, which is the area west of Route 309, and 293 in Precinct 3, which is the Andreas area.

“Turnout is incredibly high,” he said. “It’s as good as or better than the 2020 election.”

In Precinct 3, the northwest area of the sprawling township, Judge of Elections Noreen Rossi was having a similar experience.

“It’s going very smoothly,” she said. “We’ve had over 250. It’s a good turnout,” she said. “By 7:30 a.m., there were almost 50 people.”

Schuylkill County election chief Al Gricoski said that around 8,300 mail-in ballots had come in as of 2:40 p.m. Tuesday, with more expected throughout the day.

He had sent out 10,027 mail-in ballots.

“Overall, the election is proceeding along well, from our end,” he said. “We’ve had no outstanding issues. Just a few adjustments here and there. Nothing major.”

“We’re precanvassing mail-in and absentee ballots, and we’re hoping to have all the votes tabulated tonight,” he said.

In Chestnuthill Township, Monroe County, more than 600 people had already voted as of 2 p.m.

There were lines at times at the polls, but for the most part things ran smoothly, Sara May Silfee, director of elections and voter registration in Monroe County, said.

Becky Bartlett, the spokesperson for Northampton County, said things have run smoothly at the precincts. “There are always typical glitches,” but nothing unusual.

Chris Parker, Amy Miller, Marta Gouger and Kristine Porter contributed to this story.