For this election, the ballots will be two pages: front and back.
The first thing you’ll notice is that you can vote straight party for the Democratic, Republican or Green candidates. Why Green? Because on every ballot in the state of PA this cycle is Jules Memelstein who is running for Judge of the Superior Court. If you choose “Green” your ballot will not recognize votes for any of the other races, unless there is also a Green on your specific ballot, and there are some Greens on the 229 different Chester County ballots this year.
Even if you pick straight party, there are non-party races and a question on the back side of the ballot.
Races on all Pennsylvania ballots are listed in top-down order. Thus, the “top of the ticket” race would be the President and Vice-President, if there was that race this year. There isn’t, so first come the statewide judicial races. For two of those races, you will be able to pick multiple responses. Next are the countywide races, then the local races. On some ballots will be Magisterial District Judges, Mayors, Supervisors, and School Directors depending on which slots are to be filled this cycle. Then, for all 229 ballots are the Judge of Elections, Inspector of Elections, a proposed Constitutional Amendment, and Judicial retention questions.
If you would like to see your ballot, click this link and use your browser’s search function to find your precinct. Your precinct is located on your Voter Registration card.
You may notice that the Inspector of Elections area has only one name, although there were more names during the primary. Years ago, the Majority Inspector was elected based on the party of the incumbent governor and the Minority Inspector came from the opposition party. Back then, Inspectors could not be anything other than Democratic or Republican by registration. The idea was that even in a precinct that had overwhelmingly one-party registration, the opposition party should have someone onsite to make sure that the election was fair. This has changed over the years, and now the ballot will list the highest primary vote-getter from each of the major parties, independent of the party of the governor. In some precincts, there is only one person listed, which presents an opportunity. “Minority Inspector” can be of the same party as the Majority Inspector, or even from a minor party. If there is only one elected Inspector, the Judge of Elections can contact Voter Services and appoint a Minority Inspector. This position would be effective beginning with the 2018 primary election.
Next Election Blog will be on the Constitutional Amendment. Make sure to check the ICC Voter Guide here, and our searchable Candidate Guide here.