Election Day is two and a half weeks away
The Nov. 2 general election for judicial and municipal offices (plus four ballot questions in Philly) is coming up fast and with the voter registration deadline on Tuesday, Oct. 18. Learn more and register at VotePA.Gov. Who’s running in your area? Build your own ballot with C70’s nonpartisan Voter Guide. Just type in your address and you’ll find information on all the candidates and ballot questions you’ll be deciding on. You can also print out your ballot or email it to yourself and take it with you to your polling place.
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Or vote by mail: If you already have your ballot, don’t wait until the last minute to return it. The deadline is 8 pm on Election Day, and postmarks won’t be honored. Here are secure drop-off locations for mail-in ballots in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties.
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About those four Philly ballot questions: Here’s what The Inquirer has to say about them. Seventy has a position only on Question #3: to eliminate the rule that only the top two exam scorers on a civil-service list be eligible for an open city job or promotion. We’re for it. See our earlier testimony in support of the measure.
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And in the suburbs: Voters in many areas will elect school-board members but accurate information about the candidates is often hard to find. See Spotlight PA’s guide to vetting school board candidates.
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The clock is also ticking on redistricting… 101 days to go
Maps for both congressional and state-legislative district lines must be drawn (and approved) by Jan. 24, according to state officials, in order to be used for the May 2022 primary elections in which all 17 (not 18!) congressional seats, all 203 PA House seats, and even-numbered PA Senate seats will be on the ballot. With the clock ticking, it’s important that the Legislative Reapportionment Commission and General Assembly release preliminary mapping plans for the public to examine and respond to. This didn’t happen in 2011, so it was no surprise that both sets of maps produced in that cycle were highly gerrymandered and kicked back by the courts.
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Here’s our map: C70’s Draw the Lines PA initiative will promote our “Citizens’ Map” at the State Capital in Harrisburg on Tues., Oct. 26. See details in the Events section.
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Your two cents I: House lawmakers will hold hearings in Quakerstown (Oct. 19, 1-5 pm) and Northeast Philly (Oct. 20, 9 am-1 pm). Sign up to testify, submit written testimony (or watch the livestream) online.
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Your two cents II: The panel of experts who’ll advise Gov. Wolf on what to do with the maps the legislature sends him will hold hearings around PA between Oct. 18 and Nov. 3 (including Oct. 25 at West Chester and Oct. 29 at Drexel).
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As for the General Assembly: The Legislative Reapportionment Commission held another hearing on Wednesday with a focus on racial gerrymandering, according to the PA Capital-Star.
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Law firms and the legislature: Quid pro quo?
Spotlight PA is going deep on a perennial, under-the-radar problem in Harrisburg: the cozy relationship between law firms and the lawmakers who award lucrative legal contracts. Reviewing thousands of pages of records, Spotlight found the Legislature spent nearly $10 million on outside firms over the past two years, with limited detail as to the purpose and scope of the work. And over the past decade, many of those same firms and the attorneys who work for them contributed $5.5 million to the campaign committees controlled by Democratic and Republican leaders who have control over hiring private counsel. There are legitimate reasons for public officials to hire outside lawyers, and there’s no indication that laws were broken here; but that’s because there are no pay-to-play rules to cross in the first place.
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Seventy says: “It’s a real problem when there’s a substantial amount of money coming from a business, or the folks who work for that business, and that industry gets a lot of government work,” C70 policy director Patrick Christmas told Spotlight PA.”I think that correlation is pretty clear.”
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City Hall Roll Call is a summary of City Council’s weekly Stated Meeting by Lauren Vidas, an election lawyer and government relations specialist. Good government requires transparency, which is why C70 proudly sponsors this important work!
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Committee of Seventy 117th Anniversary Event
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Voter data debate: “Pennsylvania has spent nearly half a million dollars over the past six years to find and remove outdated registrations from its voter database, a process Senate Republicans now want to take up in a partisan-driven review at added expense to taxpayers,” Spotlight PA reports.
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Act 77 lawsuit: The DNC wants to intervene in the legal challenge to PA’s 2019 election-reform law by 14 GOP legislators, and some are concerned that even while the PA Supreme Court is likely to uphold the law, an earlier setback in Commonwealth Court could further inflame an already tense political environment around elections.
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An actual fraud case: A South Philly poll worker was charged in an election-fraud case prosecutors say was led by former U.S. Rep. Michael "Ozzie" Myers. Seventy says: If true, throw the book at them. This shows the system works—law enforcement is watching and those who break the rules risk being caught and prosecuted.
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Lobbying reform lite: GOP state Senators introduced four bills to impose new requirements for lobbyists and political consultants to avoid conflicts of interest and define the relationship between lawmakers and those who try to influence them. But there’s no gift ban in the package, which critics call a “baby step,” according to the PA Capital-Star.
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Beitler Distinguished Lecture: Conspiracy Theory and Political Culture, Past and Present
Tues., Oct. 19, 5:30 pm
Online
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Open Wards Philly: Ward Governance and Leadership
Tues., Oct. 19, 7 pm
Online
With more than 130 ward committees between the two major parties, there are a range of approaches to ward governance and leadership. The next event in Open Wards Philly's fall educational series leading into the 2022 party ward elections focuses on how wards operate around the city and includes a panel discussion featuring Anton Moore, Democratic Ward Leader (48th Ward), Colleen Puckett, Democratic Ward Leader (2nd), and Darin Bartholomew, Republican Ward Leader (30th). RSVP.
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Spotlight PA Judicial Election Webinar
Thurs., Oct. 21, 12 noon
Online
On Nov. 2, voters statewide will decide the future makeup of Pennsylvania’s appellate judicial system. The judges and justices who serve on the state’s Commonwealth, Superior, and Supreme Courts regularly weigh in on disputes about the day’s most consequential issues. Join Spotlight PA as they break down who is on the ballot this November, what’s at stake, and why it matters. RSVP.
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Calling in the Calling Out Culture
Wed., Oct. 27, 7 pm
Online
Loretta Ross, a legendary Black feminist, author, teacher and podcaster, will talk about her unusual approach to countering "cancel culture.” Ross believes the social-justice movement in America has been making both ethical and strategic errors in how it deals with the people with whom it has issues. The Penn Project for Civic Engagement is organizing the event in partnership with the Red and Blue Exchange at UPenn. RSVP.
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Four Paths to Better Policing
Mon., Nov. 1, 7-9 pm
Online
The Penn Project for Civic Engagement and the National Liberty Museum offer a chance to dig beneath the slogans and explore the practical options for improving policing in America in the wake of the shattering police violence against Blacks in recent years. Four panelists, including Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison and Philadelphia BLM activist Devren Washington, will lay out four different approaches to the problem, followed by an opportunity for attendees to discuss in breakout groups and pose questions back to the special guest panel. RSVP.
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City Council Redistricting Workshops
Virtual, small-group workshops are being offered (now through Oct. 25) that aim to provide useful background on the Council redistricting process, insights on the impact of the 2020 Census, and how individuals and organizations can get involved. The updated schedule is here: seventy.org/drawphilly
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Volunteer for a Draw the Lines Event in Harrisburg
Tues., Oct. 26, 11 am
State Capitol Building
We need folks to share our Citizens’ Map of PA’s 17 new congressional districts with state lawmakers. We have turned the map into a puzzle and that’s where we need you to come in: to distribute pieces of the puzzle (our proposed districts) to the State Senators and Representatives—all 253 of them. Draw the Lines will provide lunch and reimburse travel expenses. Plus, you'll take your own puzzle home! If you are available, please email us at: info@drawthelinespa.org
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Sign the Citizens’ Pledge to Fight Big Money in Elections
American Promise members in PA are launching a bipartisan campaign to make us the 23rd state to call for a constitutional amendment to stop big-money corruption. It would “reaffirm the power of citizens through their government to regulate the raising and spending of money in elections.” Learn more and sign the pledge.
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For the first time in our 117-year history, Seventy has created a membership program to broaden, diversify and expand our community of local democracy-builders. Your membership also provides unique opportunities to meet civic leaders and policy experts, gain inside knowledge of the reform process, and connect with people who are passionate about our city and commonwealth.
Become a member today!
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