Concerns about democracy, the economy and government spending motivated Centre County voters as they went to the polls Tuesday for the 2026 midterm elections.
Summer Kradzanowski, a longtime State College-area resident, said the election was about the future of the country and the world her two daughters will inherit.
“It feels like a really heavy time, right now, to be a woman. And to be the mother of two daughters, it feels like, how do I prepare them? How do I help them to be ready for a world that just seems to be... out to get them almost?” Kradzanowski said.
Kradzanowski said her work with children and families impacted by federal policies also influenced her vote.
She cited changes in the Department of Education and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, noting she knows families that have been affected.
“I'm voting for them. To make sure that they're safe and that those kids have somewhere to go home to,” she said.
Penn State senior Robert Leonard chose to vote in Pennsylvania instead of his home state of Florida because he believed his vote would have a greater impact.
“Florida predominantly leans one way. So I definitely feel like my vote is more effective here than it is in Florida,” Leonard said.
Leonard, a political science major, said economic issues and government spending were his primary concerns.
“Taxation, school funding, how the government uses our money. That's the main driving force for me,” he said.
Amber Concepcion, vice chair of the Centre County Board of Commissioners and chair of the county Board of Elections, said the county's voting machine vendor was on site to troubleshoot any issues with ballot-counting equipment.
Concepcion said preliminary results would be posted on the county's website as they became available.
She expected most results to be reported by midnight of Election Day, though some ballots, including provisional ballots, would require additional review.
Concepcion said those ballots could take one to two weeks to review and adjudicate fully.
Despite the workload, Concepcion said Election Day proceeded smoothly across the county.
She credited community volunteers for keeping polling locations adequately staffed and lines moving.
“Voters should be glad to have an election process here that's been run very smoothly and that we had so many community members who volunteered to be poll workers,” Concepcion said.