Drexel Votes

The 2024 Pennsylvania Primary date is Tuesday, April 24th. 

• To register to vote in Pennsylvania, an applicant must be a citizen of the United States for at least one month before the next election, a resident of the district in which he or she is registering for at least 30 days before the next election, and at least 18 years old by the day of the next election. The deadline for registering to vote is 15 days before the election -- April 8th is the last day to register to vote in Pennsylvania before the primary.
   
• Pennsylvania is a CLOSED PRIMARY state.  "In Pennsylvania, you can only vote for the candidates in the same political party you have named in your voter registration. For example, if you registered to vote as a member of the Republican Party then you can vote in the Republican primary, but not the Democratic primary. " (See Types of Elections, PA Department of State.) If you register as Independent, you cannot vote for Republican or Democratic candidates in the primary.
   
• Register online at https://www.pavoterservices.pa.gov/Pages/VoterRegistrationApplication.aspx 
   
• Pennsylvania voters may request a mail-in ballot or absentee ballot for the April 24th Primary up until April 16th, at https://www.vote.pa.gov/Voting-in-PA/Pages/Mail-and-Absentee-Ballot.aspx.  Pennsylvania's vote-by-mail law was upheld by a State Supreme Court decision in early August 2023.

What's the deadline to register in your state?
https://www.usvotefoundation.org/vote/state-elections/state-election-dates-deadlines.htm#MI

• Find Your Pennsylvania Polling Place  (Note that polling places in Philadelphia may be changed to ensure COVID safety. Check back the week before the election!
• Check your Pennsylvania Voter Registration Status

The following are the candidates who have met the qualifications to be on their party's ballot in Pennsylvania. There will be additional positions listed on your ballot depending on your address.

National Offices: President of the United States

Statewide Offices

For additional ballot information:

• Philadelphia City Commissioners, Candidates for Office
• Contact your County Elections Officials (Pennsylvania)
• Ballotpedia Sample Ballot Lookup

You are eligible to vote in U.S. federal elections if:

• You are a U.S. citizen.
• You meet your state’s residency requirements.
• You are 18 years old. Some states allow 17-year-olds to vote in primaries and/or register to vote if they will be 18 before the general election.  Check your state’s voter registration age requirements.

Voter Registration Deadlines

In all states except North Dakota, you must register before you can vote. Registration deadlines vary. Some states close registration 30 days before the election, while others allow voters to register up to and on Election Day.  Find out your state's voter registration deadline for the general election.

Voter Registration is by State

• You must be registered in your state of legal residence; as a student, this can be either your home address, or your campus address. If you’ve changed states permanently, you must re-register in your new state.

  • You can’t be registered to vote in more than one place at a time. When you register to vote in a new location, you’ll be asked for your previous address. Your new election office will send a cancelation form to your previous election office.

• If you’ll be temporarily away from home during the election, you can vote by absentee ballot with your state of legal residence. Examples of voters who’ve moved or are away temporarily include:

  • Military members stationed outside of their state of legal residence
  • Students attending college out of state
  • People on vacation or business trips

Different states use different rules and procedures for voting; some states allow early voting or voting by mail; others don't. Make sure you know what the procedures are in the state where you are registered. You can only vote at a Philadelphia polling place if you are registered to vote in Pennsylvania, at a Philadelphia address!

Pennsylvania has recently (9/19/2023) announced implementation of "automatic voter registration", integrated with the driver's license/State ID application process. WHYY news story: Pennsylvania has made it easier to register to vote when drivers get or renew a license

IMPORTANT INSTRUCTIONS FOR PENNSYLVANIA MAIL-IN BALLOTS:

• Complete your ballot by filling in the oval next to your selected candidates' names.
• Put your ballot in the blue "Official Election Ballot" envelope. Seal the envelope; do not write anything on the outside.
• Put the blue Ballot envelope into the white pre-addressed mailing envelope.*
• On the back of the mailing envelope, sign and date the envelope. Per a recent Supreme Court ruling, it is possible that undated ballots will not be counted.
• Return your ballot by U.S. Mail in time for it to arrive at your county elections office by Tuesday, May 16th; it is not enough for it to be postmarked by the 16th.
• Or, drop it off at your county election office; in Philadelphia, official ballot drop-off locations, and mobile ballot collection locations/times are announced in the weeks immediately preceding the election. Ballots must be dropped off by 8:00 p.m. on election day.
• You may only drop off your own ballot; if you have a disability that prevents you from delivering your own ballot, you must complete this form to designate an "agent" to deliver your ballot for you.
• If you did not return your mail-in or absentee ballot and you want to vote in person, you have two options:
  • Bring your ballot and the pre-addressed outer return envelope to your polling place to be voided. After you surrender your ballot and envelope and sign a declaration, you can then vote a regular ballot.
  • If you don't surrender your ballot and return envelope, you can only vote by provisional ballot at your polling place. Your county election board will then verify that you did not vote by mail before counting your provisional ballot.

* In Philadelphia terms -- put the jawn in the jawn, put that jawn in the other jawn, and sign and date the back of the jawn!

Philadelphia Mail Ballot Updates

Vote-by-mail Ballots for Philadelphia voters have been updated to make the voting and return process clearer; see descriptions at https://vote.phila.gov/news/2024/03/28/2024-primary-new-vote-by-mail-materials/.

Ballot Drop-Off locations: Ballots can be returned by mail, or dropped off at Election Offices including the new satellite office at 4029 Market Street, or official drop-box locations. https://vote.phila.gov/ballot-drop-off/.

About Wards, Ward Leaders, and Committee Persons:

Philadelphia is geographically divided into 66 wards. Each ward is further divided into 10-50 divisions based on population. Every four years, during the primary election of the governor’s race, registered Democratic voters in each division elect two of their neighbors to serve as the division’s Democratic committee persons; likewise, registered Republican voters elect two Republican committee persons. The elected committee persons make up each party’s ward committee, and vote for a ward leader shortly after the election, usually informally at a meeting of the ward committee. Read more about the important of Ward Leaders at http://phillywardleaders.com/learn .

Drexel University (University City Campus) is in the 27th ward. The Ward Leaders are:

• Democrat: Carol Jenkins
• Republican: Matthew Wolfe