LAWRENCE COUNTY Many Amish voted after GOP registration

The GOP registered more than 400 Amish in Lawrence and Mercer counties.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- The Old Order Amish, who populate the northern end of Lawrence County, appear to have come out to vote in droves this past election thanks to the Bush-Cheney campaign.
County election records show increases in voter registration in just about every voting precinct in the county, but those heavily populated by Amish appear to have higher-than-average numbers.
The Amish are traditionally staunch Republican voters, but local officials say it's hard to get them to polling places on Election Day.
"In the spring, if it's a good day, not too many come out to vote because they are busy in the fields and can't leave their work. The fall, most of their work is finished, and some do come out to vote," said Norman DeGidio, chairman of the Lawrence County Republican Party.
Buggies at polls
Apparently this year many more Amish came out to vote, DeGidio added. DeGidio said he had reports that there were numerous buggies -- the main source of transportation for the Amish -- at polling places in the northern end of Lawrence County.
Lawrence County Bush-Cheney campaign supporters say the Amish helped tip the scales -- along with many Democrats voting Republican -- to give President George Bush the higher vote count in Lawrence County. It is apparently the first time a Republican presidential candidate has garnered a majority of votes in the county since Richard Nixon was elected president in 1972.
Lawrence County has about 10,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans, county elections officials say.
Bush-Cheney won the county by 410 votes, just about the number of new registered Amish voters that campaign workers say they signed up in both Lawrence and Mercer counties.
Diane Marcella, Lawrence County Bush-Cheney campaign committee representative, said the idea to register Amish generated in the spring when she was working on Republican Pat Toomey's unsuccessful campaign to take the Republican nomination from U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter. She later decided to move forward with registering Amish voters for the presidential campaign.
They registered a total of 440 Amish Republican voters in Lawrence and Mercer counties.
A fun job
"It took 23 volunteers to do that job. Everyone enjoyed it. It was like a minivacation. It's very pristine with no telephone lines, power lines and you see all white houses with beautiful flowers," she said of Amish country.
Marcella estimates the new registrations were split evenly between the two counties. There were enough new Amish voters in Mercer County to warrant a training session for the sect by the county elections office on their electronic voting machines.
Marcella, who also is president of People Concerned for the Unborn Child in Lawrence County, said they mostly discussed abortion when talking to the Amish about voting. People Concerned for the Unborn Child sent two follow-up letters to the Amish they registered reminding them to vote and pointing out Bush's stance on the abortion issue, she said.
"When we told them about abortion, they were just appalled and shook their heads that this could ever happen in our country," Marcella said. "I felt bad in some ways. They are a very innocent people, and we alerted them to horrible things going on in our country."
Marcella said the message apparently got out because she later learned from a poll checker that one voting precinct in Pulaski Township, a heavily populated Amish area, had every Amish person vote on Election Day.
"I do think they gave us the edge. There are also many Democrats who are very strong on the moral issues [who voted Republican]" Marcella said.
Valerie Measel, chairwoman of the Lawrence County Bush-Cheney campaign, agreed.
"We lost Lawrence County to Gore by 2,500 votes in 2000. Honestly, I truly do believe it's the values that made a difference this year. People are conservative in Lawrence County," she said.
Abortion, gun rights
Pete Vessella, Lawrence County Democratic Party chairman, agreed -- saying people were concerned about abortion and gun rights.
"The people who should have been concerned about insurance, low-cost prescription drugs, education, tax breaks for the rich had no concern whatsoever. The only issues they were concerned about were pro-life and the NRA," Vessella said.
Vessella added that pundits in Harrisburg had Lawrence County pegged for a 60 percent, 40 percent split in favor of Bush-Cheney, but it ended up a much closer race.
cioffi@vindy.com