A voter lines up in a polling place to cast a ballot for the 2020 general election in the United States, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, in Springfield, Pa.
Matt Slocum / AP Photo
It’s Primary Day in Pennsylvania. Here’s what voters need to know
Voters around the commonwealth will pick representatives from their parties to put on the ballot for the November general election.
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Laura Benshoff/WHYY
Matt Slocum / AP Photo
A voter lines up in a polling place to cast a ballot for the 2020 general election in the United States, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, in Springfield, Pa.
(Philadelphia) — It’s Primary Day in Pennsylvania.
Voters around the commonwealth will pick representatives from their parties to put on the ballot for the November general election. In Philadelphia, where Democrats outnumber Republicans seven to one, the primary can be more determinative than the general election.
Judicial races, school board seats, and the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office are all in the running.
How to vote
Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.
Pennsylvania’s Department of State sent out 820,406 mail and absentee ballots to residents. By last count, voters had sent back 482,335 of them, or less than 60%, according to spokesperson Wanda Murren. These ballots must be received by 8 p.m. on voting day — a postmark is not sufficient. Voters can manually return a mail ballot to county boards of elections and local satellite drop-off sites.
The deadline to register to vote was May 3. The Pennsylvania Department of State website lets you check your registration and find your polling place.
Mike Catalini / AP Photo
Voters wait in line outside the Bucks county government building in Doylestown, Pa., a suburb of Philadelphia, on Monday, Nov. 2, 2020. Some said they received word that their mail-in ballots had problems and needed to be fixed in order to count.
On the ballot
First up, judges. First-time candidates for Pennsylvania’s statewide appellate courts must run in partisan elections. If selected, they serve a 10-year term and generally are reelected. For more information on who is running to serve in Pennsylvania’s Supreme and Superior Courts, and context on recent impactful decisions by these bodies, read WHYY’s voter guide to Pennsylvania’s 2021 judicial elections.
For information about lower court races in the Philadelphia region, read WHYY’s voter guide to judicial candidates running for Court of Common Pleas in Bucks, Montgomery, Chester, and Delaware counties.
In Philadelphia, incumbent District Attorney Larry Krasner faces a challenge from fellow Democrat Carlos Vega. GOP candidate A. Charles Peruto is running unopposed. Incumbent City Controller Rebecca Rynhart is running unopposed in the Democratic primary.
There are also four special elections around the state – with one to fill the 48th Senate District seat previously held by the late Senator Dave Arnold. Voters in parts of Lebanon, Dauphin and York Counties will get to pick between the four candidates in that race.
Pennsylvania voters will also see four ballot questions.
Voting day issues?
To report issues in Philadelphia, call the District Attorney’s Office Election Task Force hotline at 215-686-9641. The DA’s Office announced Monday it would recuse itself from investigating issues reported on May 18, and would instead refer those claims to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office.
Statewide, to check your registration, find a polling place, or make a complaint, you can call the Pennsylvania Department of State hotline at 1-877-868-3772.
WHYY is the leading public media station serving the Philadelphia region, including Delaware, South Jersey and Pennsylvania. This story originally appeared on WHYY.org.
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