The City of West Chester is finding itself short on candidates for city council seats.

Five seats are up for election in November and only two residents have filed to run. Current council members Ron Carey and Justin Banks are the two candidates running with Andrew Barnhart and Rochelle Bush-Allen stepping down from their seats. Mayor Steve Lippard is not running for reelection, with Council Member Vanessa Wasson running. Washington County Deputy Election Administrator Sue Meeks says the vacant seats will be filled by write-in candidates on the day of the election. She shares her thoughts on the race and the process moving forward, “I really feel that it’s unlikely that they won’t get filled in by write-in. Of course the person who is elected by write-in has the opportunity to decline if they wish. So if there is a resignation there again, the current council could appoint. I think it’s unlikely that you’re going to end up without a quorum because of the appointment process. Even if there were a special election called, the appointed person would still serve in the interim until that election is held.”

In 2015, the City of West Chester experienced a similar scenario where only four people were running for five seats. Meeks added that for those wishing to be a part of the council and receive write-in votes, they should begin spreading the word to West Chester residents as soon as possible. Election Day is November 2nd, with absentee voting beginning on October 13th.