Regis Young was one frustrated guy yesterday.

In the 44 elections of his career, voters went to the polls Tuesday in the lowest numbers ever. When all is said and done, the percentage turnout won't break 22 percent. Total number of registered voters in the county is about 103,000.

"It's almost more frustrating than I can stand. We have to do the same amount of work whether we have 100 percent turnout or 21 percent turnout. It's a shame," Mr. Young, director of the county Elections Bureau, said.

Primary elections usually generate lower numbers than general elections, and contests without a presidential candidate can be the among the most lackluster. But Mr. Young said Tuesday's primary takes the lead for the worst election in county history in terms of voter interest.

This was despite some pockets of intense competition. For example:

• For the first time since Sheriff Denny Rickard took office in 1982, an incumbent wasn't running for re-election for the four-year post, leaving an open field. Three candidates threw in their hats. Roland M. Livermore, who works as a police chief in Armstrong County, was the only Democrat running and easily won his party's nod. On the GOP ticket, Mike Slupe, who is on a leave of absence from his job as a police officer for Butler Township, bested Butler County Detective Scott Roskovski.

• In Slippery Rock Township, absentee ballots decided the referendum question about whether the township would allow the sale of alcohol within its limits. Mr. Young said that, based on votes cast at the polls, it looked as though the township would remain dry. But, when he took a look at absentee ballots, the decision shifted. He said about 50 of some 55 were in favor of allowing businesses in the municipality to sell alcohol, thereby tipping the scales.

• In Cranberry, the seat for district judge that serves Cranberry and Seven Fields appears to have been locked up by Cranberry police Officer Dave Kovach. In a field of five who were cross-filed on both the Republican and Democratic ballots, Kovach secured both parties' nods. Barring a successful -- and unlikely -- write-in campaign in the fall, he will be seated as the new magistrate in January. The term is six years. He would succeed Kelley Streib, who became a Common Pleas judge Jan. 4, after winning election in November 2008. A senior district judge, Joseph O'Donnell, has been serving in her stead.