Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt, elections commissioners Omar Sabir, Lisa Deeley and Seth Bluestein and Committee of Seventy CEO Lauren Cristella recently visited the election warehouse at 11311 Roosevelt Blvd. to remind voters about the Nov. 4 election.
“Elections are right now,” Sabir said.
The deadline to register to vote is Monday, Oct. 20. Register at https://www.pavoterservices.pa.gov/Pages/VoterRegistrationApplication.aspx.
The deadline to request a mail ballot is Tuesday, Oct. 28. Apply at https://www.pavoterservices.pa.gov/OnlineAbsenteeApplication/#/OnlineMailInBegin
Mail-in ballot applications are also available at satellite election offices. Local satellite elections offices are at 6420 Frankford Ave. in the Mayfair Shopping Center and 1619-81 Grant Ave. in Grant Plaza. Those offices are open daily.
Completed mail-in ballots must be returned by 8 p.m. on the day of the election.
They can be mailed to City Hall Room 142 or placed in drop boxes. For a list of local drop boxes, visit https://vote.phila.gov/about-us/satellite-election-offices/
On Nov. 4, polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Sabir said, at satellite offices, voters can request a ballot and fill it out in a private space, ask staff for help and drop the completed ballot in a drop box outside.
“The whole process can be done all in one shot,” he said.
Schmidt, a former city elections commissioner and Committee of Seventy CEO, said elections topped by races for district attorney and city controller historically attract low voter turnout.
“There’s no good reason for that,” he said.
Carlotta Fareira and Caleem Spurgeon, who attended the news conference, will be voting. Fareira, 93, has been voting since she registered in the early 1950s, when the voting age was 21. Spurgeon, 18, a senior at Imhotep Charter, will be voting for the first time, registering after United Neighbors of West Oak Lane presented a voter-education program at his school.
Deeley urged Fareira, Spurgeon and everyone else to vote in every race, including for judges.
“Get the most out of your vote,” she said.
Cristella encouraged people to go to ballot.seventy.org for information on the election. ••
