On May 15th, Philadelphia voters will have the opportunity to cast general primary and selection election ballots for three referendum questions, as well as numerous local and state offices.
EAL:P members, as ear-to-the-ground advocates, already know how crucial even a local election can be, especially when turnout for local elections in off-cycle years has been dropping. In 2017, only 18% of Philadelphia democrats cast ballots in the primary election–and that was actually a record high! Minority and low-income communities often see bad outcomes after low-turnout elections, which tend to be dominated by white, affluent voters.
In Philly, there are important issues on the ballot this year, including providing a permanent annual $500,000 budget for the Police Advisory Commision, requiring city council approval for school board appointments, and whether all city employees should have to attend sexual harassment training. In addition, there are dozens of general assembly and state committee elections, and literally hundreds of people running! If that sounds overwhelming, don’t worry. We have provided some resources below to help you better know the details of who is running in your neighborhood, and where to vote.

Philadelphia candidates: https://www.philadelphiavotes.com/en/voters/candidates-for-office
Find your legislator: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/findyourlegislator/
PA voter FAQ: http://www.votespa.com/en-us/Pages/FAQ.aspx
Find your polling place: https://www.philadelphiavotes.com/en/component/voterapp/?tmpl=component
Footnotes:
2017 turnout
https://billypenn.com/2017/05/17/major-increase-in-philly-voter-turnout-propels-larry-krasner-to-victory/
Turnout decline impacts
http://www.governing.com/topics/politics/gov-voter-turnout-municipal-elections.html
Ballot questions
https://www.philadelphiavotes.com/en/voters/candidates-for-office

Published by ealphiladelphia