Nov. 2 Election: Voting ends Tuesday
The Nov. 2 general election for judicial and municipal offices (plus four ballot questions in Philly) is this Tuesday. Polls will be open from 7 am to 8 pm, and if you’re in line outside your polling place by 8 pm you’ll be allowed to vote. Who’s on your ballot? Build it yourself with C70’s nonpartisan Voter Guide. 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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If you still have your mail-in ballot… Find a secure drop-off location in your county. See a full list of options for Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties.
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Justices don’t come cheap: The AP reports that spending in the race to replace retiring PA Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Saylor has topped $5 million. Spotlight PA reveals who’s spending that money and delves into reasons why: “The large-scale donations to both campaigns also showcase the state’s lax campaign finance rules, which place no limits on contributions.”
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A Redistricting Roadmap for City Council
More than 80 civic and community groups across Philadelphia have requested that City Council take certain steps to ensure an open, accessible and inclusive process in redrawing its 10 districts. As John Chin, the executive director of the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation, put it to The Philadelphia Tribune: “We want to ensure that the residents of this city in this state have a process that maximizes their opportunity to be represented fairly by their elected officials. That's what this conversation today is really about.” See the roadmap agenda and endorsing organizations.
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The roadmap: Collect public input and use that information. Count incarcerated Philadelphians at their home address; not where they’re incarcerated. Release a preliminary map for public feedback. Explain the final approved map. And commit to permanent reforms for 2031.
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Local prison gerrymandering: The coalition asked that Council use the data recently certified by the Legislative Reapportionment Commission that reallocates nearly 30,000 Pennsylvanians held in state-run correctional facilities back to their home address. But city officials must also reallocate the more than 4,000 individuals held in local-run facilities on State Road in the 6th District.
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Congressional and General Assembly mapmakers: Show us your maps!
The Census data necessary to draw congressional and General Assembly district maps has been approved; now it’s time to draw the lines. The January deadline for maps to be approved will be here soon, and the technology certainly exists to draw lines quickly. But it must be done in the open. That hasn’t been the case in the past, and Fair Districts PA chair Carol Kunilholm told Spotlight PA that it’s already beginning to happen again: “We don’t know who’s making the final decisions or why they’re making the final decisions.” But it’s not too late for legislators to show us their maps—and listen to the reaction to them—before they approve them. We’re showing our maps:
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Pieces of the congressional puzzle: C70 CEO David Thornburgh urged legislators to produce congressional maps for public review just before Draw the Lines volunteers shared a jigsaw puzzle adaptation of our Citizens’ Map with them. (Photo: Spotlight PA)
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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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Threats on election officials: Philadelphia City Commissioner Al Schmidt testified Tuesday before a U.S. Senate Rules and Administration hearing about the threats he and his colleagues received in the wake of the 2020 presidential election.
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One small step: The PA House State Government Committee unanimously forwarded a measure that would limit gifts legislators could receive to $250 a year from an individual. Currently there’s no limit.
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Doc and Henon in the dock: Folks in City Hall are “watching nervously” as the federal bribery trial of IBEW Local 98 business manager John Dougherty and City Council member Bobby Henon grinds on. “This is reinforcing these decades-old perceptions about how Philadelphia works, C70 CEO David Thornburgh said. “And that way of doing business is not working for us.”
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Ranked-choice voting coming to Philly? City Council voted to study adapting RCV. Meanwhile, a “record number” of jurisdictions around the U.S. will use it this year, The Fulcrum reports.
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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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Race, Power, and American Democracy: Rethinking Voting Rights Law and Policy for a Divided Nation
Tues., Nov. 2, 5-6 pm
Online
Join the Penn Program on Regulation on Election Day for a lecture featuring Professor Guy-Uriel Charles of Harvard Law School, who will explain how recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions have weakened the Voting Rights Act and undermined its race-based model for protecting voting rights. Professor Charles, directs Harvard’s Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice, will also explore the implications for the future of voting rights in today’s politically polarized and racially stratified society, where many states are considering changes to voting rules. 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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