Amish are the most reliably Republican group in the country [The Scribbler]

The most popular names of Americans who register to vote as Republicans are Andy Byler, Steven Stoltzfus, Elmer Stoltzfus, Jacob Stoltzfus and Benuel Stoltzfus, according to data firm L2. These are all Amish names.

More Amish live in Lancaster County than in any other place in the United States. Almost all of the county's Amish who register to vote register as Republicans. Therefore, there are potentially more Amish who are registered Republicans here than anywhere else.

These findings will surprise few people familiar with political trends in this conservative county.

But this seems to have been news to two writers for the Washington Post who examined a compilation of 212 million registered voters nationwide to find the most Republican and most Democratic names on voter roles throughout the United States.

Andrew Van Dam and Lenny Bronner, representing the fictitious "Department of Data,'' took a break from serious news for a Sept. 13 story that tracked the Amish names above to their voter registrations and addresses.

All of those names belong to at least 37 registered Republicans and zero Democrats. They all live in Pennsylvania, many of them in Lancaster County.

"These plain Pennsylvanians have to be the most reliable Republican bloc in the country,'' according to the scribes in the Data Department.

Again, that finding should shock no one who lives here. Knowing that Amish voters are reliably Republican, GOP operatives have been working to mobilize Amish voters through several election cycles.

That effort resulted in nearly 3,000 Amish votes in Lancaster County in the 2020 presidential election, according to Elizabethtown College researchers.

That was about three times the number of Amish who voted here in 2016.

Historically, the Amish have been reluctant to get involved in national elections or politics in general. Several decades ago, an Amish acquaintance informed the Scribbler's mother that the president of the United States then in office was "your president.'' But that attitude is changing.

In the last week, the Scribbler has talked with two Amish friends who say the trend toward Amish voting is slowly accelerating.

One man says the overall Amish voter turnout in 2024 will increase over 2020 "by a few more, maybe 5%.''

The other says, "Young people, especially, are for (GOP presidential nominee former President Donald) Trump.''

Outside influencers are working to stir enthusiasm for voting among the Amish.

Amish PAC's Plain Voter Project is registering Amish voters, as it did in 2020.

Scott Pressler, who heads a political action committee called Early Vote Action, has been promoting GOP voting among the Amish in Lancaster County and elsewhere in Pennsylvania by write-in ballot.

"If President Trump connects with the Amish,'' he suggested recently on X, "this group could literally save America.''

The impact of the Amish vote, even if it increases substantially over 2020, is debatable. An estimated 92,660 Amish live in Pennsylvania. Nearly half — almost 44,000 — live in the Lancaster County settlement.

That's a tiny fraction of Pennsylvania's nearly 13 million residents, including about 9 million who are registered to vote.

Meanwhile, the ever-diligent Department of Data at the Washington Post located the counterparts to the most reliably Republican registrants. The most reliably Democratic names nationwide are Asia Williams, Aissatou Diallo, Mamadou Barry and Latoya Moore. Each name belongs to more than 90 Democrats and zero Republicans.

What does all of this mean?

Nothing, really. It's no more significant than the latest poll showing the election is too close to call. To simplify things, maybe Andy Byler and Asia Williams should flip a coin to decide who wins.