November 8, 2021
Looking back on Nov. 2: Quiet but turnout was up

Last Tuesday’s election is in the books (here are results for Philly and PA), and the good news for everybody is that voting proceeded smoothly in most places around the state and around the country. But the administration of the election was by no means flawless, with Spanish-language mail-in voting instructions in Berks County listing the wrong return deadline and ballot counting delays in Montgomery County. At least in Philadelphia, it was “one of the most quiet elections we’ve had in a long time,” C70 policy director Pat Christmas told Axios Philadelphia, though overall turnout for the off-year election was up. Election Day is less chaotic when large numbers of voters are casting mail-in ballots.
  • Turnout higher in the suburbs: In Bucks County it was 26%; 38% in Chester; and 38% in Montgomery. The likely reason: contested county offices and local school-board elections.
  • Philly voters overrule the “rule of two”: City personnel managers will no longer be limited to considering only the two job or promotion candidates with the highest scores on civil-service exams, thanks to the passage of a ballot question rolling back the “rule of two” requirement in the 1951 Home Rule Charter. It was established to guard against political patronage but proponents of the change, led by Councilmember Cherelle Parker, argue that it thwarts diversity and hamstrings managers. Sixty-two percent of voters agree, and so do we.
Going forward from Nov. 2

Philadelphia’s 22-percent turnout last week — higher than unusual but still low — was not unexpected, considering the lack of competitive races on the ballot and lower profile judicial elections. So it’s little wonder that waiting in line wasn’t a problem for voters. Another reason was that so many more people are voting by mail now (roughly one-third in Philly). This begs a question: Do we still need roughly 1,700 election precincts (located at ~800 polling places), each of which is supposed to be staffed by five poll workers? Recruiting, training and deploying 5,000-8,500 Philadelphians to work the polls twice a year is unsustainable. At some point and over a reasonable period of time, Pennsylvania will have to wind down precinct-based voting as early voting and vote centers become available. For now...
  • Raise poll-worker pay. The hours are long and the responsibilities substantial, both protecting voters’ franchise and the integrity of the election. And for all this the pay is just $120 (plus $40 for a quickie on-line training session). Philly poll workers deserve a pay bump, Mount Airy election judge Larry West writes in an Inquirer op-ed.
Caught our eye
Candymandering: Savannah Rhodes, a student at the Baldwin School in Bryn Mawr, PA, replicates the PA congressional map she created for Draw the Lines with Halloween candy. Meanwhile, Politics PA speculates on how the real map-making might play out.
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! 
On our radar
Ban second jobs for electeds?: As the corruption trial of Council member Bobby Henon and Henon’s boss at IBEW Local 98, John Dougherty continues, The Inquirer calls for a ban on outside jobs for members of Council. The editorial notes that of the 10 cities with the highest paid municipal legislatures, Philly pays its members more than any of the cities that allow outside jobs.
Broken democracy? It was worse before, Jon Grinspan, a political-history curator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, writes in The New York Times. In fact, the 20th-century political “norms” we fear we’re losing didn’t exist for most of the 19th.
Build back local news better: In an Inquirer op-ed, Jim Friedlich, the CEO of the Lenfest Institute, the paper’s nonprofit owner, notes that a bill that would provide tax credits to local news outlets has been incorporated into the Build Back Better bill, and urges that the provision survive negotiations and the bill be enacted.
Gift-ban loophole: The York Daily Record reports that Gov. Wolf wants the General Assembly to tighten the gift-ban bill that passed the House State Government Committee unanimously and also ban gifts from non-registered lobbyists.
Show and tell: Counties are required to make candidates’ campaign-finance reports available to the public but there’s no requirement to make it easy to access, and a Spotlight PA survey finds that some counties don’t.
Events
Pennsylvania’s Elections: Threats, Strengths, and What Might Lie Ahead
Wed., Nov. 17, 12:30 pm
Zoom

Join the University of Pittsburgh’s Pitt Cyber for a discussion focusing on post-election audits, and trust in our elections and democracy. Panelists include former PA Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar, Alexa Grant of Common Cause PA, Liz Howard of NYU’s Brennan Center for Justice, and C70 CEO David Thornburgh. Pitt Cyber policy director Chris Deluzio is the moderator. The event is part of Pitt Cyber’s Protecting our Democracy and Securing our Elections series. Register.
Get Involved
Community Input Meetings on City Council District Boundaries

Virtual Community Input Meetings are being scheduled through November and December to provide space for discussion and feedback on the current City Council district boundaries and what changes, if any, residents and stakeholders in given are may want to see. The updated meeting schedule and a public survey open to any city resident are here: seventy.org/drawphilly
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.
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!