Registration party in West Philly urges voters to get registered before tonight’s deadline

What questions do you have about the 2025 elections? What major issues do you want candidates to address? Let us know.

Philadelphia City Commissioner Omar Sabir and other elected officials hosted a pre-dawn party in West Philadelphia this morning in an effort to get people registered to vote in November’s general election and beyond.

They came to the 52nd Street El stop armed with coffee and doughnuts in hopes of bringing more voters to the registration table.

“Just to meet voters where they are. Just to remind everyone that we do have an election. A lot of people have forgotten that we have an election,” Sabir said. “So we’re trying to build some excitement about this upcoming election.”

State Rep. Amen Brown said the goal is to get voters signed up not just for this election, but for next year’s midterm congressional election also.

“I do believe some people in certain communities are more energized because of what’s being taken away from them,” Brown said. “That’s why we’re right here at 52nd and Market because this might be one of those communities that a lot has been pulled away from. So we’re just trying to protect what we got and build a little bit more.”

In addition to registration services, prospective voters could even get a mail ballot printed on the spot when they signed up to vote this morning.

Sabir added that even convicted felons and those in jail on pre-trial detention can vote if they meet certain qualifications.

“There are about approximately 100,000 Philadelphians – the number may even be higher than that – who believe that they cannot vote simply because they have a criminal background,” he said.

“The rule is if you are currently incarcerated for a felony conviction, while you’re currently incarcerated, you can’t vote. But once you get freedom, once your feet hit the streets, you can compete. So once you get free, you can vote.”

“If you’re currently incarcerated, for anything other than a felony crime, you can vote,” Sabir said. “Even if you’re currently incarcerated and it’s not a felony conviction, you can vote in jail. And we actually send ballots to the jails.”

There are also plenty of city residents who are eligible to vote who just don’t register, according to the commissioner.

“I believe it’s about 150,000, close to 150,000 18-year-olds that are not registered. So, that’s a lot of votes. If we can get them registered, that will change the complexion of an election.”

The process of getting registered is simple and Sabir said if you go to a city commissioners’ satellite election office, you can register and vote at the same time.

“We have 11 satellite locations located all across the city of Philadelphia, including City Hall. They can walk in, they can get registered to vote. And then they can request a ballot after they get registered, the whole process will take about 15 to 20 minutes. If you are already registered, you walk in, request the ballot. They’ll print the ballot out,” Sabir said.

Voters can also register online.