Governor's Race Tops Pennsylvania's Ballot as Philadelphia Votes

Pennsylvania's Nov. 3 ballot is led by the race for governor and lieutenant governor, pairing Democrats Josh Shapiro and Austin Davis against Republicans Stacy Garrity and Jason Richey. As the commonwealth's largest city, Philadelphia casts a share of the vote that no statewide campaign can ignore.

Below the top of the ticket, Philadelphia voters will choose U.S. House members, Pennsylvania House members and, in some districts, Pennsylvania Senate members, along with ballot questions. Your exact contests depend on your address, which is why checking your sample ballot and polling place at vote.pa.gov before Election Day is worth five minutes.

Philadelphia's election is administered locally by the City Commissioners, and the practical rules are the ones that decide whether a ballot counts: polls open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., voters in line by 8 p.m. may vote, and mail ballots must be received by 8 p.m., with no credit for a postmark.

First-time voters at a polling place should bring identification — photo or non-photo documents with name and address are accepted — while returning voters at the same polling place are not required to show ID. Voters with a completed mail ballot who prefer to vote in person should bring the entire mail packet to surrender at their polling place.

Statewide races are won in Philadelphia's precincts as surely as in any county in Pennsylvania. Turnout in the Northeast, West Philadelphia and South Philadelphia will help choose the next governor — and the legislators who will argue with that governor in Harrisburg for the next session.

Philadelphia results will arrive ward by ward through the evening, and statewide margins can swing as the city's precincts report. Readers should wait for the City Commissioners' official counts rather than early, partial tallies before judging any close Pennsylvania race.