Vote Positive Pennsylvania Voter Guide

photo by Adam Schultz

We need an administration that will protect the Affordable Care Act, take a public health approach to Covid-19, and enact policies that treat women, immigrants, LGBTQ people, and Black and non-Black people of color with basic human dignity.

Biden might not go far enough on all of our issues, but together, he and Kamala Harris make a team that could mend the deep damage done by the Trump administration.

The Trump/Pence administration has been an unmitigated disaster for the life, health, and human rights of our communities. Trump has further undermined our public health system and democratic institutions; stoked white supremacist violence, disinformation, and fear; and will argue that the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional this November — while we’re in the middle of a global pandemic.

Nina Ahmad has a history of fighting for pay equity for women, against workplace harassment, and for working and poor families. She is committed to using her power as the state’s fiscal watchdog to hold Big Pharma accountable and lower drug costs, protect and increase education funding, address sexual harassment and violence, and take on the National Rifle Association (NRA).

Josh Shapiro has taken a strong stand against Donald Trump and his administration’s dangerous and racist policies.

He has fought to protect and defend the Affordable Care Act, access to reproductive health care, and LGBTQ equality.

His opponent, Heather Heidelbaugh, is an anti-choice conservative who has expressed support for broad exemptions from the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate and opposition to Covid-19 mitigation orders such as limiting crowd sizes and ordering certain businesses closed.

Joe Torsella prides himself in setting high transparency standards, including creating an Treasury Transparency Portal and a fiscal health scorecard.

He plans to create universal college savings accounts, an individual retirement account for older Pensylvanians, and is currently working to pressure Gildead to lower drug prices to help address the Covid-19 pandemic.

His opponent, Stacy Garrity, is an avid Trump supporter who has advocated for extreme fiscal austerity, even in the face of a human rights crisis such as the Covid-19 pandemic.

This ballot measure would amend the Philadelphia City Charter to call on the police department to end unconstitutional stop-and-frisk.

There’s much to be done to reimagine community safety, but Question 1 is one step in the right direction: a necessary public reckoning to end illegal, ineffective, racially-targeted stop-and-frisk.

Question 3 would create a citizens’ police oversight commission: an independent body to review use-of-force incidents and complaints against the police.

Mayor Kenney said this commission will have teeth — subpoena power! — and we’re going to hold him to his word.

Gary Wegman supports single-payer health care, access to abortion, universal pre-K, increasing the minimum wage, green energy, expanding voting rights, and getting big money out of political campaigns.

This is the kind of leadership Berks county needs right now.

We have to get Dan Meuser out of the U.S. House of Representatives. He walks lockstep with Trump: he supports repealing the Affordable Care Act, blocking federal dollars from going to aboriton care (which makes it hard for low income people to get the reproductive health care they need), and implementing draconian immigration restrictions, including ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

Nikil Saval has serious progressive credentials! He’s been called “the most interesting politician in America” and we know why: Saval is committed to universal, single payer health care, universal family care (including paid family leave and universal early child care), statewide rent stabilization, building and preserving affordable housing, banning private prisons, ending cash bail and pretrial punishments, a Green New Deal for Pennsylvania and so much more!

Janet Diaz knows that health care is a human right. She will fight for comprehensive, affordable health care–including mental health and family planning services, and an end to surprise billing–as well as a living wage for all.

The incumbent Scott Martin is no friend to women or Pennsylvanians with low incomes. He has voted to limit abotion access, to categorically limit welfare benefits, and to add onerous medicaid work reporting requirements, which would limit health care access for people in Pennsylvania.

Nancy Guenst is running on a platform to expand physical, mental, and reproductive health care; raise the minimum wage; fund schools equitably; and protect LGBTQ rights.

She also has a bold vision to transform our criminal legal system by decriminalizing marijuana, ending cash bail, abolishing private prisons, and eliminating felony disenfranchisement laws.  

Hearing Representative Kenyatta’s fierce, unapologetic defense of democracy and voting rights at a Pennsylvania House committee debate gave us chills. He is a champion of equal pay and a living wage, has demanded inclusive data collection and non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people, and will continue to fight for better health care and against mass incarceration. 

Elizabeth Fielder is a yes on universal health care, a living wage, safe consumption sites, rent control and increasing public housing, ending the Hyde Amendment (which blocks federal funding from going to abortion care), decriminalizing sex work, and ending felony disenfranchisement.

We’re a yes on Elizabeth Fielder!

Regina Young’s tenacious, grassroots campaign unseated well-backed, long-time incumbent Maria Donatucci and we’re excited to see what she’ll do for the 185th District! (She’s running unopposed.) Young has committed to working for equitable funding for public schools, universal pre-K, ending the school-to-prison pipeline, mass incarceration and mandatory minimums, and closing private prisons.

Since he was elected in 2016, Rep. Rabb has taken the lead on immigrant justice, election reform, and reproductive freedom. A couple of examples: he has co-sponsored bills to make Pennsylvania a sanctuary state, allow non-citizens to get a drivers license, authorize universal, automatic voter registration for 16- and 17-year-olds, and to provide everyone in the state–including people who are undocumented and people of trans experince–the full range of preventive and reproductive health services, which includes abortion coveage (of course)!

Pennsylvanians can apply for mail ballot now until the deadline of October 27th.

All Pennsylvanians can vote by mail ballot.

Click here to request your mail ballot.

We strongly recommend that voters return their mail ballots as early as possible to an official drop box rather than putting in the mail.

Find a drop box near you here.

In order to be counted, mail ballots must be postmarked by 8pm on November 3 (Election Day).

Check the status of your mail ballot here.

**Important: In PA, mail ballots have two envelopes: 1) a smaller security envelope and 2) a larger return envelope to sign & date. You must use both! 

Due to a recent court decision, ballots returned that are missing the secrecy envelope, called “naked ballots,” will be rejected. 

If you vote by mail, please be sure to read the instructions very carefully, put the ballot inside the secrecy envelope before placing it inside the outer envelope, and sign and date the outer envelope according to instructions. Here’s a quick video on how to do it.**

Polls are open from 7am to 8pm on Election Day Tuesday, November 3.

Find your Election Day in-person polling location here.

Masks are required in public places, including the polls, in Pennsylvania.

If you requested a mail ballot but decide to vote in person, you will need to bring the mail ballot and the outer envelope with you to the polls.

Learn more here.

If you are voting for the first time in your election district, you will need to show ID to vote.

Approved forms of photo identification include:

• Pennsylvania driver’s license or PennDOT ID card
• ID issued by any Commonwealth agency
• ID issued by the U.S. Government
• U.S. passport
• U.S. Armed Forces ID
• Student ID
• Employee ID

If you do not have a photo ID, you can use a non-photo identification that includes your name and address. 

• Confirmation issued by the County Voter Registration Office
• Non-photo ID issued by the Commonwealth
• Non-photo ID issued by the U.S. Government
• Firearm permit
• Current utility bill
• Current bank statement
• Current paycheck
• Government check

If you have already voted at your current polling location, you do not need to show ID.

Learn more here.

• If you are an older voter, you can request a ride to the polls here.
• Lyft, 50% off one ride up to $10 to any polling location or dropbox using the code 2020VOTE*.
• Uber, 50% off roundtrip rides to and from the polls (up to $7 each trip), or up to $14 for the two trips.