Ready, set, vote: Primary day is here

Primary day is here in Pennsylvania, and while the heated presidential election has national media watching how Pennsylvania votes for the various candidates, there will be races for office that are more important to Philly on the ballot as well.

Chief among these may be the Democratic nomination race for Congressman representing the 2nd District of Pennsylvania.

Incumbent Rep. Chaka Fattah, who is scheduled to begin trial on federal fraud charges in May, is going up against challenger state rep. Dwight Evans, along with Lower Merion township commissioner Brian Gordon and Northwest Philly activist Dan Muroff. Despite his criminal case, Fattah is projected to win the race. The nominee will go against Republican candidate and local businessmanJames Jones.

Several Democrats are vying for the nomination as U.S. senate candidate to go against Republican Pat Toomey in November. These include former Navy admiral Joe Sestak, former head of state environmental protection Kate McGinty, Western Pa. mayor and grassroots activist John Fetterman and small business owner Joseph Vodvarka. Sestak is projected to win the race by pollsters.

Democrats are also vying for the nomination for Attorney General, after current AG, the scandal-soaked Kathleen Kane, announced she will not seek another term.

Montgomery County commissioner Josh Shapiro, Allegheny County DA Stephen Zappalla, and Northampton County DA John Morganelli are fighting for the nomination on the Democratic side. The winner will go against the winner of the Republican primary, former cop and prosecutorJoe Peters or state senatorJohn Rafferty.

Voters in Pennsylvania will also get a ballot question about whether to abolish Philly’s embattled Traffic Court, and whetherthe mandatory retirement age for judges shouldbe extended from 70 to 75.

In Philly, there will be one ballot question for voters: whether the city should establish a commission on African American males, “which would study and recommend responses to challenges facing African-American males in Philadelphia.”

Voting this primary

The Pennsylvania primary is on April 26. Polls in Philadelphia will be open from 7a.m. to 8 p.m.

VisitPhiladelphiaVotes.comto find your polling place.

Need help voting? Call Philly’s nonprofit politics watchdog, the Committee of Seventy, at1-855-SEVENTY (1-855-738-3689).

If you suspect voter fraud or other election-related crimes, contact the DA’s Election Fraud Task Force at215-686-9641, 9643 or 9644.