Lower Macungie Patch Election Results

Today's Election Day Experience Around Lower Macungie Patch

* Forty people were in line when the polls opened this morning at Macungie Memorial Park. It was cold, but they all waited. Robin Hamilton said it took about 20 minutes to vote at that time.

* Darla Malik of Macungie said she was asked for ID, but didn't really need it. She was not completely comfortable with being asked to show ID, but didn't make an issue of it, she said.

* At 3 p.m. St. Anne's Episcopal Church was buzzing. Up to that point almost 900 voters had passed through the doors, according to Edna Lucas, judge of elections.

* Leslie Tobin Smeltz, judge of elections at Church of the Good Shepherd in Alburtis, said around 4 p.m. that 265 people had voted there before 8 a.m. double that voted during that time period in 2008. Of that district's (Lower Macungie -- 6th) 3,000 registered voters, 1,340 had been in to vote as of 4:15pm.

* Voter Terri Kernechel said she didn't wait long to vote at Good Shepherd. It was important to her that her voice be heard, she said.

ALBURTIS, MACUNGIE AND LOWER MACUNGIE 

2012 ELECTION RESULTS

Obama-Biden

Bob Casey

U.S. Congress,

15th District

Rick Daugherty

Area Voting Trends

Polls have shown the presidential race between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney tightening in the days before the Tuesday election.

In the last two presidential elections, Republicans dominated Lower Macungie, although their margin of victory was slimmer in 2008 than in 2004, when President George W. Bush was triumphant in all voting precincts.

Elsewhere, Alburtis proved to be a Democratic stronghold in both elections, while Macungie went for the Republican in 2004 and the Democrat in 2008.

President George W. Bush won Lower Macungie in 2004, defeating Sen. John Kerry by almost 2,500 votes, 7,665 to 5,259. Bush won in all six voting precincts.

In 2008, the number of precincts increased to 10, with Republican Sen. John McCain winning eight of them. The exceptions were the 6th and 9th districts, won by then-Sen. Barack Obama.

The 6th district’s voting place is the Church of the Good Shepherd, 135 Quarry Road. The 9th district’s voting place is the Village of Willow Lane, 6488 Alburtis Road.

The 2008 totals in Lower Macungie were McCain, 8,023, and Obama, 7,684.

Alburtis voters went with the Democrats in both years, although they gave Kerry just a six-vote margin of victory, 452 to 446. In 2008, Obama won more substantially, 591 to 449.

Macungie, meanwhile, favored the Republican Bush, 797 to 723, and the Democrat Obama, but by a wider margin, 839 to 666.

For a look at all the candidates in all the races, check out our Lower Macungie Patch Election Guide.

Stay with Patch all day as we update this article with news and information from the polls and live election results after 9 p.m.

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Patch freelance reporter and editor Jack Tobias contributed to this story.