UPDATED: As expected, turnout high early

Reports of hour-plus waits at the polls are reaching PolitickerPA.com from across the state.

One of those areas is Center Township's 5th Precinct in Beaver County, according to Kyle Mullins, state Senate candidate Jason Petrella's campaign manager. He told PolitickerPA.com in an e-mail that one woman who reported to the polls at 7 a.m. finally voted just after 8 a.m.

He indicated the apparently high turnout is good news for Petrella, who faces Republican Elder Vogel Jr. in one of Pennsylvania's most competitive state Senate races.

"That's what we're hoping for," he said.

A report from the Centre Daily Times says voter turnout in that area is at an unprecedented level. 

"I've never seen anything like this," Jeff Kern, a precinct judge of elections in the State College told the paper.

The paper reported the lines were as long as a hundred people. 

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports similar turnout in western Pennsylvania while The Erie Times-News reports each party is offering rides to voters.