Voter Handbook: May 20, 2014, Primary Election in Philadelphia Table of Contents About this handbook .................................................................................................................................... 4 Miscellaneous Election Information ............................................................................................................. 5 How to Vote .............................................................................................................................................. 5 Write-in Voting .......................................................................................................................................... 5 Important Deadlines ................................................................................................................................. 6 Pennsylvania Voter ID Law - No Photo Required! .................................................................................... 6 Ballot Contests .............................................................................................................................................. 7 Sources of Candidate Information -- All Candidates ................................................................................. 7 US Senate Primary (Registered Republican and Democratic Voters Only) ............................................... 7 US House of Representatives Primary (Registered Republican and Democratic Voters Only) ................ 7 Governor of Pennsylvania Primary (Registered Republican and Democratic Voters Only) ..................... 8 Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania Primary (Registered Republican and Democratic Voters Only) ... 8 Pennsylvania State Senator Primary (Registered Republican and Democratic Voters Only) ................... 8 Pennsylvania State Representative Primary (Registered Republican and Democratic Voters Only) ....... 9 Republican and Democratic Party Officials (Registered Republican and Democratic Voters Only) ......... 9 State Party Committee Elections .......................................................................................................... 9 Ward Party Committee Members ......................................................................................................... 9 Ballot Questions ........................................................................................................................................ 9 Special Election for City Council at Large (All Voters, Regardless of Party) ............................................ 11 Appendix: Ballot (as of 3/17/2014) -UNOFFICIAL ....................................................................................... 12 Special Election for City Council at Large (All May Vote Regardless of Party) ........................................ 12 Ballot Questions (All May Vote Regardless of Party) .............................................................................. 12 Republican Primary Contests (only registered Republicans may vote) .................................................. 12 Democratic Primary Contests (only registered Democrats may vote) ................................................... 14 Appendix: Sample Worksheet..................................................................................................................... 20 Commissioner Stephanie Singer | 215-686-3460 | PhiladelphiaVotes.com | PATransparency.org 3/18/14 2 Thank you for considering voting in the 2014 Primary Election in Philadelphia. While many Philadelphians vote in Presidential elections, many fewer vote in midterm elections. This low turnout has far-reaching consequences. One in every eight registered voters in Pennsylvania is a Philadelphian, but candidates for statewide office spend less than one-eighth of their time campaigning in Philadelphia. They favor the counties with higher voter turnout, and who can blame them? The result is statewide officials (such as Governor) who don't understand us or respond to our needs as well as they would if we turned out to vote in large numbers. At the other end of the scale, members of major political parties (Republican or Democrat) elect local precinct-level party representatives at this primary. Every vote you cast is a vote not only for a candidate, but also for your neighborhood and for your demographic group. Every vote you cast supports the work of the local leaders who represent you. Every vote you cast makes Philadelphia stronger. I hope that this handbook will help you to cast your vote with knowledge and confidence. Sincerely, Stephanie Singer City Commissioner Previous Handbook in the Civics on the Ground Series: Defending Democracy at Home: How to Run for Neighborhood Leadership Positions Voters' Guide to the November 5, 2013, General Election ___________________________________________________________________________________ Commissioner Stephanie Singer | 215-686-3460 | PhiladelphiaVotes.com | PATransparency.org 3 ___________________________________________________________________________________ Commissioner Stephanie Singer | 215-686-3460 | PhiladelphiaVotes.com | PATransparency.org 4 About this handbook This handbook is designed to guide voters who wish to participate in the May 20, 2014, election in Philadelphia. This handbook does not contain last-minute information, such as the exact composition of the ballot. That information is available at www.PhiladelphiaVotes.com or by calling the Philadelphia Board of Elections at 215-686-3943. The contents of this handbook may be freely copied and distributed, as long as they are attributed to the Office of City Commissioner Stephanie Singer. An electronic copy can be downloaded from PAtransparency.org1. Paper copies are available from the Office of City Commissioner Stephanie Singer. Note for Folks without Internet Access: this handbook contains many links to websites with useful information. If you do not find website links useful, you may wish to ask a young relative or neighbor to get the information for you from the web. 1 http://www.patransparency.org/index.php/blog/voter-handbook-for-11-5-13-election/ ___________________________________________________________________________________ Commissioner Stephanie Singer | 215-686-3460 | PhiladelphiaVotes.com | PATransparency.org 5 Miscellaneous Election Information How to Vote The official source for current information on how to vote is available from the Pennsylvania Department of State, whose website for voters is VotesPA.com and whose phone number is 717-787- 5280. There are four kinds of ballots in Pennsylvania. Regular Ballot: in Philadelphia, a regular ballot is cast at the polling place on Election Day on a voting machine or, if machines are not working properly, on paper. To cast a regular ballot, a voter's registration must be listed in the poll book (which includes the supplemental poll book sheets) on Election Day. You can find your polling place at PhiladelphiaVotes.com2 or by calling the Philadelphia Board of Elections at 215--686-3469. Absentee Ballot: voters who will be absent from Philadelphia on Election Day because of duties, occupation or business, or who cannot get to the polls due to illness, are entitled to request and vote a paper absentee ballot. Information on obtaining and voting absentee ballots is available from the Philadelphia Board of Elections at 215-686-3469 and from VotesPA.com. Alternative Ballot: voters who are 65 years of age or older, or who are physically handicapped, and who are assigned to a polling place that does not meet state standards for accessibility (including two handicapped parking spots), are entitled to request and vote a paper alternative ballot. To find out whether your polling place is deemed accessible by these standards, call the Philadelphia Board of Elections at 215-686-3469. Information on obtaining and voting alternative ballots is available from the Philadelphia Board of Elections at 215-686-3469 and from VotesPA.com. Provisional Ballot: a person who believes her- or himself to be duly registered to vote but whose registration is not listed in the poll book has the right to cast a paper provisional ballot, which will be counted if and when the person's registration has been confirmed. Write-in Voting In each contest where the winner is a person, each voter has the opportunity to write in a name that is not listed on the ballot. To cast a write-in vote on a paper ballot, look for the blank space labeled "Write- In". Instructions for write-in voting are written on every voting machine in Philadelphia. A video demonstration of write-in voting on a Philadelphia voting machine is available at on YouTube in English3 and in Spanish4. 2 http://www.philadelphiavotes.com/index.php?option=com_voterapp&tmpl=component 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_a98Aw39yo 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q706KeTFanM ___________________________________________________________________________________ Commissioner Stephanie Singer | 215-686-3460 | PhiladelphiaVotes.com | PATransparency.org 6 Important Deadlines Sometimes there are changes in these deadlines; the most up-to-date information is available from the Department of State5. As of 3/17/2014, the deadlines were as follows for 2014: April 21 Last day to register before the May election May 13 Last day to apply for a civilian absentee ballot May 16 Last day for County Boards of Elections to receive voted civilian absentee ballots May 20 Primary Election Day! Last day for County Board of Elections to receive voted military-overseas