Historic Wayne County Polling Place Designated Keystone of Democracy

STARRUCCA, Pa., July 26, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Secretary of the Commonwealth Carol Aichele today designated a Wayne County building used as a polling place for 120 years as a Keystone of Democracy.

Aichele, whose agency oversees elections in the state, today presented a certificate to the Wayne County Commissioners designating the Scott Center Community Center in Scott Township as a Keystone of Democracy.

"The Keystone of Democracy designation recognizes buildings that have served as unique pieces of Americana, where citizens participate in our most basic civic right, voting," Aichele said. "By recognizing these places where citizens gather twice a year to cast ballots, we also recognize the county officials, poll workers and, most importantly, the voters who come here year after year, to make our representative form of government work."

The Scott Center Community Center was built in 1830 by community members to serve as a school and church. The Wayne County Bureau of Elections has original documents from an election dated Feb. 16, 1892, stating the location of the polling place for Scott Township #2 as the "Scott Center School House."

Attending today's ceremony was Scott Township resident Vergil K. Faigle Jr. , who was inducted into Pennsylvania's Voter Hall of Fame in 2010.  Members of the Voter Hall of Fame must have voted in at least 50 consecutive general elections.

Faigle has voted in the Scott Center Community Center for 58 years, since he was old enough to vote, and recalled older family members voting and serving on election boards in the building. Voters with the last name Faigle are on the list of participating voters in the 1892 election documents which were used to verify the building's use as a polling place.

"By their simple act of voting in this building, year after year, the people of Wayne County provide the best example possible to their families, friends, and all of us, of what it means to be a good citizen," Aichele said.

The Keystone of Democracy program, instituted earlier this year, recognizes polling places in use for at least 50 consecutive years, honors poll workers and reminds citizens of the importance of voting in every election. Wayne County is the second county to receive such a distinction. Earlier this year, a polling place in Somerset County was designated a Keystone of Democracy.

County officials are encouraged to email the Department of State at ra-st-press@pa.gov to nominate polling places for the special designation.   

Media contact: Ron Ruman , 717-783-1621

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of State

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