Philadelphia City Commissioner Lisa Deeley has relaunched her campaign to encourage voters to cast ballots in every contest this election year, emphasizing the persistent problem of “undervoting.”
Undervoting occurs when voters skip contests on the ballot, or select fewer candidates than allowed in multi-candidate races. According to Deeley, the issue significantly undermines voter impact both locally and statewide.
“We need to focus on increasing participation, showing up to vote and voting in each and every electoral contest," said Deeley. "Philadelphia’s low participation is diminishing our impact on statewide elections and minimizing voters’ voices in local contests."
Data from the 2021 general election highlights the scope of the problem. Of the 229,700 Philadelphians who voted:
15,203 skipped the Supreme Court race
13,224 skipped the Superior Court race
52,494 undervotes occurred in the Commonwealth Court’s vote-for-two race
The 2021 Commonwealth Court race was so close that it triggered a statewide recount between the second- and third-place finishers. Other notable undervotes included:
1,014,843 in the Court of Common Pleas’ vote-for-twelve race
448,452 in the Municipal Court’s vote-for-five race
13,724 Philadelphia voters skipped the District Attorney race
60,091 did not vote for City Controller
Judicial retention questions also saw high undervotes, with 81,026 to 94,714 voters skipping each of the 24 judges’ retention votes. Four city ballot questions had between 17,900 and 25,048 undervotes each.
Deeley attributes the problem largely to a lack of civics education. “People are not sure what these offices do and how they affect their lives,” she said. “Many do not know the difference between the Philadelphia Municipal Court and the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court. My hope is that through increased education we can increase participation.”
Deeley’s office has produced civics education materials to illustrate the separation of powers with office descriptions. The materials are available in English, Spanish, and traditional Chinese.
The office has also created videos detailing each office on the ballot and how they impact voters, which can be viewed on her YouTube page, PHLgovTV
Deeley’s office also produced videos explaining the offices that are on the ballot this year and how they affect voters’ lives. The videos will be available on her YouTube page, PHLgovTV
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 4. Polls will be open for in-person voting from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Philadelphians will pick their next District Attorney and City Controller, as well as weigh in on a host of statewide and local judicial races and retentions. For more election and voting information, go to vote.phila.gov and pa.gov/vote.
