Independents can vote on ballot questions
By Sarah Anne Hughes
HARRISBURG — There’s just one week until the primary election Tuesday in Pennsylvania.
All voters, regardless of affiliation, will be asked to weigh in on four ballot questions, including two proposed constitutional amendments that could significantly shape Pennsylvania’s future response to disasters like the coronavirus pandemic.
Democrats and Republicans, meanwhile, have a number of judicial and municipal races to consider.
Below, Spotlight PA answers some of the most frequently asked questions about voting and what Pennsylvanians will see on their ballot. You can learn more by watching our recent live event on the ballot questions and judicial races with WHYY’s Katie Meyer.
a tool for that.)
In some cases, ballot language, as Spotlight PA previously reported. (Philadelphia uses a different system and is excluded). Figuring out which district you live in can be a challenge. For example, it’s easy in Lehigh County, which has a lookup tool, but tougher in Lancaster County, which only publishes a static map.
The best place to look for that information is your county government’s website. Then, visit your county’s election division for a list of candidates or sample ballot to see if your district judge is up for reelection.
Investigating an incumbent or challenger’s qualifications is also difficult. They aren’t evaluated or given a rating by the Pennsylvania Bar Association (it only reviews the qualifications of people running for appellate court seats). And local coverage of these races is spotty, at best.
That’s a significant lack of scrutiny for judges who make $93,338 a year, with the possibility of a pension and lifetime health care. As a Spotlight PA/PennLive investigation found, there are also huge variations in their workloads. In 2019, 10% of district judges had at least 60 days without court appearances, above and beyond holidays, weekends, and training days.
One measure you can consider for incumbents is how many days of the year they did (or didn’t) have court proceedings using this tool.