Pennsylvania's Supreme Court election is bringing voters to the polls across the state Tuesday. Three Democratic justices are seeking another 10-year term, and outside groups have poured an estimated $9.1 million into the race.
But Penn State News Lab reporters found that in rural Pennsylvania, what's motivating people to vote goes far beyond the judicial race itself. In Clearfield, Clinton and Union counties, residents say they're thinking about health care, food security, and reproductive rights.
Much of the campaign advertising has focused on abortion rights. One ad from Pennsylvanians for Judicial Fairness puts it this way: "Nineteen states banned abortion, but here in Pennsylvania we've got a state supreme court that's our last line of defense."
Right-leaning organizations like Commonwealth Partners and Citizens for Term Limits have donated money in opposition to retaining the three judges.
In Clearfield County, Steven Weiss, a father of four, says reproductive rights brought him to the polls.
"My wife had four kids, and she had her tubes tied," Weiss said. "So the only way that she's going to have a pregnancy is to have an ectopic pregnancy. Which means, if she didn't have proper medical care because of someone's religious beliefs, she might die."
But Weiss told News Lab reporter James Russell that reproductive rights aren't his only concern. At 36, he's never worked a job that paid enough to get his family off government assistance, despite working steadily. His family relies on WIC and SNAP benefits to make ends meet.
"I've never been able to reach that wage to be completely off government assistance," Weiss said. "I would love to, but it's just the reality we're living in."
Weiss blames the $7.25 federal minimum wage for keeping families like his dependent on food assistance programs.
Abortion is also driving Cathy Zimmerman to the polls, though from a different perspective. The 69-year-old retiree from Mifflinburg told News Lab reporter Kakii Kabua what matters most to her this election.
"Locally, PA, it's abortion. It's important to me," Zimmerman said. "Those babies have every right to live."
In Clinton County, Tom Werner came to vote focused on health care costs. He told News Lab reporter Mercedes Tresise the system has been broken for years.
"What we pay for health insurance and what you pay once you go to the hospital, God forbid," Werner said. "I mean, I've had family issues where my wife was Life Flighted out of here to Pittsburgh hospital, and the costs that come along with that... just insane, and I can understand why people just don't go to hospitals and don't go to doctors and don't go the pre care. They can't afford it."
Werner is also frustrated with what he calls the "same old routines" in his community, and he's calling on younger people to get involved.
"A lot of new people are putting their foot forward in our political program that this day and age is kind of taboo," Werner said. "It is time for our new people in a young life, in a different version, to get back into the community."
Despite their different priorities, Werner and Weiss share a frustration with partisan politics. Werner puts it this way: "I'm in a belief that political parties need to stop. It's we the United States, not we the Republicans or Democrats."
The Supreme Court race and millions in campaign spending are bringing voters to the polls in Clearfield and Clinton counties today. But what's motivating them to vote are kitchen table issues: the cost of food, access to affordable health care, and the ability to protect their families.