Help us improve in just 2 minutes—share your thoughts in our reader survey.

Pennsylvania state executive official elections, 2016

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Ballotpedia Election Coverage Badge-smaller use.png
Presidential • U.S. Senate • U.S. House • Attorney General • State executive offices • State Senate • State House • State ballot measures • Candidate ballot access
Flag of Pennsylvania.png
2017 →
← 2015
Seal of Pennsylvania.png

Pennsylvania Executive Official Elections
Top Ballot
Attorney General • Treasurer
Down Ballot
Auditor

The Keystone State

Three state executive offices in Pennsylvania were up for election in 2016:

Context of the 2016 elections

Party control

Pennsylvania is usually regarded as a swing state, though the presidential nomination has gone to a Democrat since 1988.[1] It has a divided government. Republicans have controlled the General Assembly for much of the last 20 years; Governor Tom Wolf's election in 2014 ended a three-year Republican trifecta. However, as of January 2016 approval ratings for the state government were extremely low: 35 percent for Gov. Wolf and 15 percent for the Republican-controlled legislature.[2]

Democrats hold all of Pennsylvania's elected state executive offices. Despite this partisan dominance, recent controversies surrounding Democratic state officials—namely the indictment of A.G. Kathleen Kane and conviction of former Treasurer Rob McCord on federal charges of extortion—put Democrats at risk of losing seats in the 2016 elections.[2]

The chart below shows the partisan composition of the Office of the Governor of Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania State Senate and the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1992 to 2013.

Partisan composition of Pennsylvania state government(1992-2013).PNG

2016 elections

Races we watched

Key election dates
Filing deadline (major parties):
February 16, 2016
Primary date:
April 26, 2016
Filing deadline (third parties and independents):
August 1, 2016
General election date:
November 8, 2016
Recount request deadline:
November 17, 2016
Inauguration:
January 17, 2017

Attorney General

Pennsylvania held an election for attorney general on November 8, 2016. The primary was on April 26. Josh Shapiro (D) won the election, keeping the seat in Democratic hands.

HIGHLIGHTS
  • Attorney General Kathleen Kane (D) resigned from office in August 2016 after she was convicted on felony perjury charges. She was the first Democrat to hold the office since 1979.
  • Governor Tom Wolf (D) appointed former First Deputy Attorney General Bruce Beemer (D) to serve the rest of Kane's term; he assumed office on August 30.
  • County commissioner Josh Shapiro (D) competed with state Sen. John Rafferty (R) in the general election.
  • Shapiro won the election on November 8, 2016.


    • Elections by office

    Attorney General

    Treasurer

    Auditor

    Voter registration

    For full information about voting in Pennsylvania, contact the state election agency.

    Registration

    To vote in Pennsylvania, a resident must fulfill the following requirements:[7]

    “

    ☐ A citizen of the United States for at least one month before the next primary, special, municipal, or general election.
    ☐ A resident of Pennsylvania and the election district in which you want to register and vote for at least 30 days before the next primary, special, municipal, or general election.
    ☐ At least 18 years of age on or before the day of the next primary, special, municipal, or general election.[8]

    		”

    Online registration

    See also: Online voter registration

    Pennsylvania does not permit online voter registration. Pennsylvania had a bill pending in the 2013 legislative session which would have authorized online voter registration. On April 17, 2013, the Pennsylvania State Senate passed the bill. However, as of January 2015 that bill had not been passed by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.[9][10]


    Past elections

    Candidate ballot access
    Ballot Access Requirements Final.jpg
    Find detailed information on ballot access requirements in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

    2015

    There were no state executive elections in Pennsylvania in 2015.

    2014

    Two state executive offices were up for election including governor and lieutenant governor.

    2013

    There were no elections in Pennsylvania in 2013.

    2012

    Three state executive offices were up for election including attorney general, treasurer and state auditor.

    State profile

    Demographic data for Pennsylvania
     PennsylvaniaU.S.
    Total population:12,791,904316,515,021
    Land area (sq mi):44,7433,531,905
    Race and ethnicity**
    White:81.6%73.6%
    Black/African American:11%12.6%
    Asian:3.1%5.1%
    Native American:0.2%0.8%
    Pacific Islander:0%0.2%
    Two or more:2.1%3%
    Hispanic/Latino:6.4%17.1%
    Education
    High school graduation rate:89.2%86.7%
    College graduation rate:28.6%29.8%
    Income
    Median household income:$53,599$53,889
    Persons below poverty level:15.9%11.3%
    Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
    Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Pennsylvania.
    **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

    Presidential voting pattern

    See also: Presidential voting trends in Pennsylvania

    Pennsylvania voted for the Democratic candidate in five out of the seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

    Pivot Counties (2016)

    Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, three are located in Pennsylvania, accounting for 1.46 percent of the total pivot counties.[11]

    Pivot Counties (2020)

    In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Pennsylvania had one Retained Pivot County and two Boomerang Pivot Counties, accounting for 0.55 and 8.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respectively.

    More Pennsylvania coverage on Ballotpedia

    See also

    Pennsylvania government:

    Previous elections:

    Ballotpedia exclusives:

    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Governing.com, "Will Swing States Increase in the 2016 Presidential Election?" December 9, 2015
    2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Morning Call, "Voter disgust hits record high for PA government and politicians, poll finds," January 26, 2016
    3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Delaware County Daily Times, "Longtime Delco prosecutor Jack Stollsteimer to seek Dem nod for Pa. attorney general," August 13, 2015
    4. ↑ The Philadelphia Business Journal, "State senator announces campaign for Pa. attorney general," June 15, 2015
    5. ↑ ‘’Pennsylvania Department of State,’’ “Election Information,” accessed February 17, 2016
    6. ↑ post-gazette.com, "Albert Baker Knoll, son of former Lt. Gov. running for state treasurer," January 14, 2016
    7. ↑ VotesPA, "How to Register," accessed June 10, 2014
    8. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
    9. ↑ CBS, "Bill To Allow For On-Line Voter Registration In Pennsylvania Clears The State Senate," April 17, 2013
    10. ↑ Open States, "SB37," accessed June 10, 2014
    11. ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.


    Flag of Pennsylvania
    v • e
    State of Pennsylvania
    Harrisburg (capital)
    Elections

    What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures

    Government

    Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy


    Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Pennsylvania_state_executive_official_elections,_2016&oldid=8905543"