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The total bum's guide to getting to the polls
The Web site for the award-winning alternative weekly, the Philadelphia City Paper.
The total bum's guide to getting to the polls
Ok: You've completely ignored the many attempts to get you to pay attention to where and how to vote, and now you need help. That's fine. Here's the lowdown.
Step 1: Can you even vote? Because you sure didn't register for no midterm.
If you voted before (in the November 2008 election, say), and still reside at the same address, you are still registered!
Step 2: How do you find your polling place?
You do it here, at VotePA.org, or
You do it here, at the Committee of Seventy website
(Don't even mess around with this site, maintained by the City Commissioners office, the only one of these three groups directly responsible for overseeing Philadelphia elections).
Step 3: What do you need to bring?
If you've voted before, nothing.
If this is your first time, bring picture ID. If you don't have that, bring what you can – and make sure it has your address. If anything goes wrong and you are denied a normal ballot, request a provisional ballot and keep the receipt.
Step 4: What is a ballot question?
Besides the candidates, there will be four ballot questions. It's Our Money's inaugural podcast did a pretty good job of describing them in about four minutes.
Briefly, they are:
1. Should the city charter be amended to allow City Council to impose living-wage restrictions on businesses who contract with the city?
2. Should the city's Procurement division be allowed to engage in electronic bidding and purchasing for city materials (or continue using papyrus - kidding)?
3. The city already prohibits discrimination in contracts on the basis of race, color, religion, or national origin; should the list be updated to include ancestry, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age or disability?
4. Should the city borrow $106,690,000.00 for capital projects in transit, streets and sanitation, municipal Buildings, parks, recreation and museums, and economic and community development?
For more detail on these questions, check the Committee of Seventy's breakdown (note: Seventy will present you with a neutral explanation, but also its own opinion on each).
Step 5: Who do I call when the ship goes down?
If you have problems, here is a long, long list of numbers from the DA's office:
CITY COMMISSIONERS
Chairperson, Honorable Margaret Tartaglione 215-686-3461
Commissioners Office—Room 132 215-686-3462
Commissioner Anthony Clarke
Honorable Joseph Duda 215-686-3464
COMMITTEE OF SEVENTY 1-866-687-8683
ELECTION DAY COMPLAINTS 215-686-1590
VOTING MACHINE MALFUNCTION 215-686-7800
ELECTION BOARD 215-686-3469
(Absentee Ballots and Poll workers) 215-686-3943
ELECTION LEGAL MATTERS 215-686-3940
MISSING ELECTION MATERIALS 215-686-1530
215-686-1531
215-686-1532
WATCHER CERTIFICATES 215-686-1530
CITY HALL OPERATOR 215-686-1776
COURT OF COMMON PLEAS INTERPRETERS 1-866-874-3972
215-6868-1560
DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S COMPLAINT 215-686-9641
INTAKE UNIT 215-686-9643
215-686-9644
215-686-9884
DEMOCRATIC CITY COMMITTEE 215-241-7800
REPUBLICAN CITY COMMITTEE 215-561-0650
CENTRAL ELECTION COURT 215-686-4278
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