Voters on Tuesday will cast ballots based on a new legislative district map, which will go into effect next year.

Though the change will have little affect on how the elections are conducted, it likely will prompt questions from voters, according to Wil White, Butler County’s solicitor.

“It might look a little different to the voter because they’re going to see some different races or names that (they) haven’t previously voted for,“ White said.

As voters will make their selections based on the new districts, they will continue to be served by representatives of the current versions of district maps. Current representatives and senators will remain in office through the end of December.

Since 1971, redistricting has taken place every 10 years.

Pennsylvania’s constitution requires that the legislative districts for the state House and Senate be redrawn each decade following the federal census.

Additionally, the U.S. Constitution requires the apportioning the U.S. House of Representatives seats based on the census too.

Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration began working in 2018 toward redistricting slated for 2021. After a series of objections and appeals among legislators and other officials, new maps have been accepted.

As the lines shifted in legislative districts, numbers and boundaries have changed, but a lot of familiar faces remain.

Following the 2020 U.S. Census, Pennsylvania lost one seat in the U.S. House, leaving it with 17.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Feb. 23 approved the map setting the state’s congressional districts.

As lines shifted to make up for the one missing seat, Butler County found itself with one representative covering the entire county. Currently it has two.

The 15th District, currently held by U.S. Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson, no longer represents any part of the county. The 16th District now covers the entirety of it.

U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly currently holds the seat, and he is seeking reelection for a seventh term.

He is unopposed in the Republican primary, but he will see opposition in the general election, after Dan Pastore of Fairview, Erie County, and Rick Telesz of Volant, Lawrence County, vie in the Democratic primary.

None of the state senate seats representing Butler County are up for election, but Butler County again will see some condensation in regard to these seats.

Senators Scott Hutchinson, R-21st, and Elder Vogel, R-47th, will share Butler County, but the 41st District, a seat held by Republican Joe Pittman, no longer contains any part of Butler County.

The Butler County municipalities previously covered by Pittman will be split between Hutchinson and Vogel’s districts. Terms for both senators end in 2024.

Hutchinson’s 21st District will consist of Butler City, Allegheny, Brady, Buffalo, Butler, Center, Cherry, Clay, Clearfield, Clinton, Concord, Connoquenessing, Donegal, Fairview, Franklin, Jefferson, Marion, Mercer, Muddycreek, Oakland, Parker, Penn, Slippery Rock, Summit, Venango, Washington, Winfield and Worth townships, and Bruin, Cherry Valley, Chicora, Connoquenessing, East Butler, Eau Claire, Fairview, Harrisville, Karns City, Petrolia, Portersville, Prospect, Saxonburg, Slippery Rock, West Liberty and West Sunbury boroughs.

The district also includes all of Clarion, Forest, Venango and Warren counties, as well as part of Erie County.

Vogel’s 41st District includes parts of Butler, Beaver and Lawrence counties.

Butler County municipalities included are Adams, Cranberry, Forward, Jackson, Lancaster and Middlesex townships, as well as Callery, Evans City, Harmony, Mars, Seven Fields, Valencia and Zelienople boroughs.

For the past decade, the 8th District has straddled county lines, specifically Butler and Mercer counties. Rep. Tim Bonner holds the seat through December.

Post-election, the new 8th District again will include multiple counties, but this time, it will be Butler and Lawrence counties. The inclusion of Lawrence County opens the door for Rep. Aaron Bernstine, a Lawrence County resident who holds the 10th District seat, to possibly continue serving Butler County.

While no Democrats are on the ballot, Bernstine will have local competition in the Republican primary with John L. Kennedy of Middlesex Township and Eric DiTullio of Lancaster Township.

The new 8th District consists of Butler County's Brady, Center, Clay, Connoquenessing, Forward, Franklin, Lancaster, Middlesex, Muddy Creek, Penn and Worth townships; and Connoquenessing, Portersville, Prospect, West Liberty and West Sunbury boroughs.

Butler County municipalities added to the district include Connoquenessing, Forward, Middlesex, Penn and Lancaster townships, as well as Connoquenessing and Prospect boroughs.

Those moved from the district include Cherry, Marion and Mercer townships, as well as Harrisville borough.

The new 11th District still remains the most central and embedded in the county as its entire boundary is within the county’s border.

Incumbent Rep. Marci Mustello, a Republican, is running for reelection against challenger Jennifer Steele of Butler.

The revised district consists of Butler City; townships of Buffalo, Butler, Clearfield, Clinton, Donegal, Jefferson, Oakland, Summit and Winfield; and boroughs of Chicora, East Butler and Saxonburg.

Municipalities added to the district include Buffalo, Clinton and Winfield townships. Some municipalities have moved to other restructured districts, including Connoquenessing and Fairview townships, as well as Connoquenessing, Fairview, Karns City, Petrolia and Prospect boroughs.

Another district fully in Butler County, the new 12th District will continue to stay within county lines. Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, a Republican, will remain in the seat through December, when he will retire.

Republican candidates Scott Timko, of Cranberry Township, Gregg Semel, of Zelienople, and Stephenie Scialabba, of Cranberry Township, will be competing for the seat. In the fall, the winner will face Democrat Robert Vigue of Valencia, who is running unopposed in the primary.

The restructured district consists of Adams, Cranberry and Jackson townships; and Callery, Evans City, Harmony, Mars, Seven Fields, Valencia and Zelienople boroughs.

Municipalities added to the district include Jackson Township, as well as Evans City, Harmony and Zelienople boroughs. Municipalities moving include Clinton, Forward, Middlesex and Penn townships.

The 17th District is a number entirely foreign to Butler County. The current 17th District is held by Rep. Parke Wentling, and consists of Crawford, Erie, Lawrence and Mercer counties.

Through redistricting, the territory will include Butler and Mercer counties, and another familiar face — Bonner — is vying to represent the same area he serves in his current position in the 8th District.

Bonner is running unopposed in the primary, and there are no Democrats on the ballot, so pending a massive write-in campaign, he likely will be elected by default to the position.

The largest portion of District 17 comes from municipalities of the former 64th District, a seat currently held by Rep. R. Lee James. The 64th District served Venango County and part of Butler County, but no longer holds any ground in Butler County.

Other pieces of the former 8th, 10th and 11th Districts also are folded into the new 17th District.

In addition to Mercer County municipalities, the district consists of Butler County's Allegheny, Cherry, Concord, Fairview, Marion, Mercer, Parker, Slippery Rock, Venango and Washington townships, as well as Bruin, Cherry Valley, Eau Claire, Fairview, Harrisville, Karns City, Petrolia and Slippery Rock boroughs.

With the redistricting comes some streamlining as the county goes from eight districts to four.

In addition to the current 64th District, there are three other districts that no longer will include a small portion of Butler County.

Rep. Abby Major’s 60th District, Rep. Jim Marshall’s 14th District and Bernstine’s 10th Districts will cease to exist within Butler County’s borders.

According to White, still sharing districts could force election day results to take longer, if the other county doesn’t count ballots at the same pace; however, having fewer districts to oversee may also help expedite the process to some extent.

“It’s often the case there’s some good and bad,” White said.

Regardless of what’s changed, there still are 135,261 registered voters in Butler County, including 76,497 Republicans and 39,852 Democrats, and all of those voting in the primary election Tuesday should be heading to the same polling place they’ve had in the past.

The impacts of redistricting will not affect precincts or polling places.

Despite this fact, there have been seven polling places that have changed since last year, affecting the following precincts: Butler City Ward 2, Butler City Ward 4-1, Butler Township 1-1, Center Township 2, Eau Claire Borough, Evans City Borough and Summit Township North.

“None of them had to do with redistricting. Most likely all of those would have been changed regardless of redistricting,” White said. “Some of them were changed out of convenience. Some of them were changed for logistics.“

White said some polling places that changed had been temporary solutions during the COVID-19 pandemic, but most involved how much space the places offered and their location among its voting constituents.

A list of all Butler County’s polling places was published in Tuesday’s Butler Eagle on Page 16. Additionally, the information is available online at www.informationvote.pa.gov/polls.

With less than one week before the primary, White said the county’s bureau is ready with only minimal impact from confusion caused by redistricting.

“We’ve certainly taken some questions and calls,” White said.

The Election’s Bureau has been without a director since April, after former director Aaron Sheasley left. The job posting for a new director closed Tuesday, according to past reports, making a replacement by election day unlikely.

White has provided some leadership to the office in the absence of a director, but he commended the staff in their efforts.

He said the staff has done a great job preparing for the election, and he expects the primary to be a success.

“Things seem to be moving pretty smoothly,” White said.