Poll results show close call on whether Election Day impacts beer sales
As voters across Crawford County made plans to head to the polls for an election expected to be too close to call late Tuesday, some also made plans for after voting ended and the wait for a clear winner began. But like the race for president, an unscientific poll of local distributors on the question of Election Day's impact on beer sales proved too close to call.
At Carriage House Distributing in Jamestown, the data showed a clear answer.
"We're up about 102 percent from last Tuesday," said Carriage House employee Dillon Kehren, "so I'd say, yeah, there's been an increase."
There were also clear winners on the day: Miller Lite and the Republican Party.
"Miller Lite is always No. 1," said Kehren, who had also seen numerous "I voted" stickers and others supporting particular candidates or parties. "Quite a few — mostly Republican."
At Route 18 Brew Thru in Hartstown, the race was a close one between Miller Lite and Busch Lite, but the overall steady turnout was typical for a Tuesday despite an early surge just after the 11 a.m. opening, according to owner Cindy Prasnikar.
"It's pretty quiet for around here," she said at about 5:30 p.m. "Not anything bigger than usual."
Voters and others still had about 90 minutes before the store closed, giving Prasnikar an hour to make it to the West Fallowfield polling location at the township building, less than a mile up Route 18.
"Everybody's been asking me, 'Did you go vote?'" she said of the many customers wearing "I voted" stickers.
"I didn't go this morning because I knew it would be crowded and I didn't want to be late for work," she added with a laugh. "I was like, if I get stuck talking after 7 o'clock after I vote, that's fine, I don't have to worry about being back for work."
With less than three hours left at the polls, Scott Aitken, an employee at Just Brew It in Vernon Township who was sporting an "I voted" sticker of his own, said things were shaping up like "just a typical Tuesday." Rather than the presidential race that seemed to have cleaved the electorate almost precisely in half, Aitken pointed to a more quotidian factor to explain any deviations outside the norm for turnout.
"It's funny because weather determines it a lot, too, and it was a nice day today," he said. "We might've been a little more than average, but I would put that more to the weather because that's usually what changes the frequency of the customers coming in."
The margins at Titusville Beverage Co., a drive-thru distributor located near the southern edge of the city, were razor thin, according to an employee who declined to provide his name and said he didn't plan to vote himself.
"We're a little busier today but not by much," he said. "It's slightly busier than it would usually be."
While the increasingly intense presidential campaigns supporting Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have sharply divided voters and ignited speculation about potential responses from the losing side, there had been no evidence of disgruntled voters by early evening at Titusville Beverage.
"Not from what I can tell," the employee said regarding voter dissatisfaction. "Ask me that tomorrow and it might be a different story."
