CIVICS 101 – April, 22, 2025
If you are a regular reader of this civics column in the SCOOP Newspaper, you may be starting to think, “Thera’s getting a little repetitive.” Yup, you would be correct. I am being repetitive–not because I don’t have a lot of other civics-related articles I could be writing. I am being repetitive because I want to make sure that no one who is an eligible voter misses out on being as informed as possible about who the candidates are and what’s at stake as folk prepare to head to their polling places Tuesday, May 20, Primary Election Day across Pennsylvania.
My guest on my radio program, The Inside Scoop, broadcast on WWDB/AM every Wednesday from 8 am to 9 am, April 16, 2025, was (none other than) Philadelphia Chairman of the City Commissioners, Omar Sabir.
Here’s some of what he said about the upcoming Primary Election in Pennsylvania. “The stakes couldn’t be any larger as we head toward the Tuesday, May 20, Pri- mary Election Day in Pennsylvania. We have judicial candidates from the local level at the Court of Common Pleas and Municipal Court all the way up to the State Supreme Court on the ballot on May 20, in addition to the District Attorney’s race, the City Controllers race, and there are also three ballot questions to vote on as well. It’s very critical that we come on out because judges are going to shape the direction of our country right now. There are all these questions about who has presidential authority, congressional authority, state authority, and local authority. A lot of these issues that we’re having right now in our country are going to be settled in the court. The courts are very critical, much like they were some years ago during the height of the civil rights movement.“
Omar Sabir added, “Voting in person is one option you have for election day. You also have the option to vote by mail. When you vote by mail, you can take even more time in the leisure of your home to go over the candidates’ names and then make your selections, for whom you will give your votes too.”
Commissioner Sabir said that if you really want to learn more about the various candidates and what they say they stand for, there are many ways to do so. You can Google their names and check out what’s on their websites. You can log onto the Committee of Seventy (https://seventy.org) and read what information they have gathered on the various candidates. You can go online to the various local newspapers and see what area journalists have written about the candidates and when, and if possible, show up at upcoming candidates’ forums so you can see and hear from the men and women asking for your votes in person. Hear what they have to say, learn about their background, and find out if they were engaged in community work and civic leadership prior to wanting to become an elected official.
Log on at www.vote@phila.gov to learn more about the voting process in Philadelphia. The deadline to register to vote in Pennsylvania if you plan on participating in the May 20 primary election is 11:59 pm on May 5. Do not wait until the last minute to register to vote. Register now.
There are 15 candidates running for Court of Common Pleas in the upcoming primary election and six (6) candidates running for Municipal Court. There are three (3) seats available on the Municipal Court and nine (9) seats available on the Court of Common Pleas. There are also statewide judicial races happening. There’s one seat available on the State Superior Court and one on the PA Commonwealth Court.
Don’t forget the city of Philadelphia has ten satellite voting offices spread out across the 10 city council districts. Those offices are open Monday through Saturday from 9 am to 5 pm–to find the nearest location to you, call the City Commissioner’s office at 215-686-3462.
For voting information in Delaware, call 1-866-our-vote (866-67-8683. For voting information in New Jersey, call 1-877-NJVOTER. The Primary Election Day for New Jersey is June 10, 2025.
Get ready, get set to vote. It’s your civic duty.
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