Bucks County candidates running on the May 18 ballot for municipal offices, including school director positions, will be contacted by the League of Women Voters of Bucks County. By April 5, they can look to receive an email from LWV of Bucks County with a “Voter Guide Invitation to Participate,” a personal link to participate in the web-based voters’ guide on Vote411.org. Candidates are encouraged to look for this email invitation and contact LWVBC at LWVBucksVote411@gmail.com with any questions.
Vote411.org is a one-stop-shop voter service of the League of Women Voters and is now in its 14 year of operation. The League of Women Voters of Bucks County uses this resource to provide Bucks County voters with an online voters’ guide before each election. Candidates offer email addresses in their filing petitions. LWVBC uses these to send them this email invitation that includes a unique link for each candidate to participate.
Candidates are requested to respond by April 15 to basic biographical questions and several questions directed to all candidates running for that office. Their unique link does allow for editing up until Election Day. This nonpartisan service will enable voters to make a side-by-side comparison of candidates, be informed, print out a list of candidates to take along to the polls, and much more well ahead of completing a mail ballot or setting off for the polling location.
Municipal elections have significant consequences for communities. On May 18, residents can give their voice to who they would like to represent them at the government’s local level. These are the people who decide on taxes and how schools are run, and rule on important family, civil and criminal matters in courts. Elections will be held for county row offices, judges for the Superior and Commonwealth Courts, the Court of Common Pleas and Magisterial Districts, many borough councils and township supervisors, along with school board directors.
Decisions about who to vote for in this municipal primary carry a great deal of weight because the closed primary system in Pennsylvania restricts who votes for candidates on the ballot to those registered in that candidate’s party. Typically, fewer than 15 percent of eligible voters will vote in the municipal primaries, leaving many races decided by a very slim number of votes. Cross-filing for school board and judicial candidates can conceivably have races decided at the point of the primary election, making voter participation in the municipal primary that much more important.
There are three constitutional amendments on the May 18 ballot, and all registered voters, including unaffiliated and third-party voters, can vote on these questions. Learn more about the proposed amendments at Vote411.org, as part of What’s on Your Ballot, when you request your Personalized Voting Information.
Register or check and update your voter registration at the official Pennsylvania government website VotesPA.com. The last day to register to vote ahead of the municipal primary election is May 3. The last day to request a mail ballot is May 11. More information on participating in the May 18 municipal primary can be found at Bucks County’s official website, BucksCounty.org
