All seats in the 435-member U.S. House and another 33 in U.S. Senate will be voted on in Tuesday’s general election. Of those, Pennsylvania has 19 representatives and its junior senator on the ballot. There’s also a gubernatorial race in the state along with General Assembly elections.
The U.S. Senate race:
Republican Sen. Rick Santorum faces Democratic challenger Bob Casey Jr. Green Party candidate Carl Romanelli had his name removed from the ballot, but can still be voted for in the write-in portion of the ballot.
Sen. Rick Santorum: Pennsylvania’s Republican junior senator is seeking a third term in the U.S. Senate. He stands for social conservative values, including an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to ban same-sex marriage and the outlawing of abortion. He opposes raising taxes, amnesty for illegal immigrants and setting a timeline for withdrawing U.S. troops out of Iraq.
State Treasurer Bob Casey Jr.: The son of former Gov. Robert P. Casey supports measures to make health care more affordable for small businesses. He supports tax cuts for the middle class, but he’s also in favor of raising taxes on multimillionaires. He opposes cuts to student financial-aid programs. Casey said he’ll “push for a clear exit strategy” out of Iraq if elected to the Senate.
Carl Romanelli: The Green Party candidate
supports universal health care for all Americans and he’s an advocate of abortion rights. Romanelli opposes the Iraq war and supports an immediate redeployment of U.S. troops out of Iraq.
Pennsylvania Gubernatorial race:
Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell is seeking a second term in a race against Republican challenger Lynn Swann. Rendell’s running mate is Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll. Swann’s running mate for lieutenant governor is Jim Matthews.
Gov. Ed Rendell:
The incumbent is running on his record of managing to execute his office despite working with a GOP-dominated legislature. He touts a gambling law he signed that will contribute toward providing property tax relief. He also is highlighting his record of reducing the state’s budget deficit, lowering unemployment and raising the minimum wage.
Lynn Swann:
The former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver wants to reform the state government to be more transparent to the public.
He also wants to reform how the state handles property taxes to provide more relief to Pennsylvanian homeowners. Swann calls for adding 5,000 more police officers to the state by 2010 to aid crime-reduction efforts.
Voting AND POLLING Information
Anyone who wants to vote must go to the designated polling place that corresponds with his or her residential address.
Students’ polling place information and electoral home addresses are listed on their voter-identification cards.
Pennsylvania polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.
First-time voters must show proof of identification before casting a ballot. Voters have the legal right to cast a provisional ballot if they don’t meet the requirements to submit a normal ballot. More information can be found at www.pavoterservices.state.pa.us.
There are 1,681 electoral divisions in Philadelphia, according to the Committee of Seventy, a government watchdog non-profit.
Here are some polling places near Main Campus:
For voters registered with a University Village residence – Brown Community Center, 1701 8th St.
For voters registered with an Oxford Village residence – North Philadelphia 7th Day Adventist, 1606 Oxford St.
For voters registered with a The Edge or Elmira Jeffries residence – AME Union Methodist Church, 16th and Jefferson streets.
For voters registered with a James S. White Hall residence – Duckrey School, 16th and Diamond streets.
For voters registered with a 1300 Residence
Hall or Temple Towers residence – Dendy (Schwartz) Recreation Center, 10th and Oxford streets.
Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman can be reached at sulaiman@temple.edu
Be the first to comment