Primary Day Primer

Pennsylvania’s primary day is Tuesday, April 24. Yes, this Tuesday.

So if you’re registered to vote and have been all-but-checked-out, here are a few helpful pieces that could inform your choices in the booth tomorrow.

For starters: the Committee of Seventy is your best bet, as always, to get real, nonpartisan info about elections.
  • Primary day is a dress-rehearsal for Pennsylvania’s new voter ID law. For Tuesday’s elections, you should bring a valid photo ID, but you are not required to do so until Election Day on November 6. Curious about the new ID requirements? Check this edition of the Committee of Seventy’s How Philly Works or use their downloadable voter ID guide. [pdf]
  • For a list of all contests and basic candidate information, check here.
  • Find your polling place, district, or elected officials by entering your address here.
City Paper runs down the must-watch and must-vote races in our area. Among them:
  • Sen. Bob Casey’s Republican challenger
  • Babette Josephs v. Brian Sims for the 182nd PA House district covering greater Center City. This race is wacky for so many reasons, with a backdrop of identity politics and the fact that Brian Sims was Babette Josephs’ campaign treasurer. Sims would be the state’s first openly gay representative.
  • The special election scrum for Councilman Kenyatta Johnson’s seat repping the 186th PA House district covering Southwest Philly. It’s a four-way , tight contest.
  • And West Philly’s knock-down-drag-out-follow-the-money race between incumbent James Roebuck and Fatima Muhammad in the 188th. The pro-school voucher money being poured on this race was also featured in a recent City Paper article by Daniel Denvir.
The Northeast Times rounds up the races Northeast Philly:
Metropolis editor Tom Ferrick digs into some election-day analysis and opinion:

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