Voters Guide: A guide to casting your vote April 24
Posted: Thursday, April 19, 2012 4:00 am | Updated: 7:10 am, Thu Apr 19, 2012.
About the electionDate: Tuesday, April 24
Poll hours: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Who can vote: Registered Democrats and Republicans can vote in their respective primaries.
Questions about voter registration:
In Bucks County, call the county voter registration office at 215-348-6163 from 6:30 a.m. to midnight April 24.
In Montgomery County, call the county voter registration office at 610-278-3280 from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Questions about voting regulations:
In Bucks County, call the Board of Elections at 215-348-6154 from 6:30 a.m. to midnight April 24.
In Montgomery County, call the Board of Elections at 610-278-3275 from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Need a ride to vote?
In Bucks County, call Republicans at 215-345-6811 or Democrats at 215-348-2140.
In Montgomery County, call Republicans at 610-279-9300 or Democrats at 610-272-2000.
About the Voters Guide
The news staffs of the Bucks County Courier Times and The Intelligencer gathered this information from the candidates. Candidates in most contested races in Pennsylvania were asked to provide biographical information and to respond to questions posed by the reporters. Each answer was limited to 50 words. Biographical information only is listed for unopposed candidates. (I) after a name means incumbent. “Not given” means the candidate didn’t provide a specific piece of information. “The candidate did not respond” means the candidate had no response or refused to provide the information requested. The order of candidate listings changes every year. The Republicans go first this year; the Democrats were listed first last year.
Online Voters Guide and election coverage: The Voters Guide and other election coverage also can be accessed at
Who can vote: Registered Democrats and Republicans can vote in their respective primaries.
Questions about voter registration:
In Bucks County, call the county voter registration office at 215-348-6163 from 6:30 a.m. to midnight April 24.
In Montgomery County, call the county voter registration office at 610-278-3280 from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Questions about voting regulations:
In Bucks County, call the Board of Elections at 215-348-6154 from 6:30 a.m. to midnight April 24.
In Montgomery County, call the Board of Elections at 610-278-3275 from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Need a ride to vote?
In Bucks County, call Republicans at 215-345-6811 or Democrats at 215-348-2140.
In Montgomery County, call Republicans at 610-279-9300 or Democrats at 610-272-2000.
About the Voters Guide
The news staffs of the Bucks County Courier Times and The Intelligencer gathered this information from the candidates. Candidates in most contested races in Pennsylvania were asked to provide biographical information and to respond to questions posed by the reporters. Each answer was limited to 50 words. Biographical information only is listed for unopposed candidates. (I) after a name means incumbent. “Not given” means the candidate didn’t provide a specific piece of information. “The candidate did not respond” means the candidate had no response or refused to provide the information requested. The order of candidate listings changes every year. The Republicans go first this year; the Democrats were listed first last year.
Online Voters Guide and election coverage: The Voters Guide and other election coverage also can be accessed at
10 comments:
Get your Photo ID's ready or be prepared to join the ranks of the disenfranchized.
PA simplifies photo ID requirements ahead of primary
The national debate over voter ID laws rages on
Michael Gorsegner
Staff reporter
5:44 a.m. EDT, April 19, 2012
HARRISBURG— Voting will look a little different in five days as the state's new voter ID laws take effect just in time for the April 24 primary. The controversy over the new law is still brewing here in Pennsylvania and nationwide.
The process of getting an ID just got easier for many people yesterday. The Secretary of the Commonwealth announced voters with expired identification can come to a PennDOT location and simply give their information and get a non-driver license photo ID. And while the state is making the process easier, many across the nation are wondering why this is mandatory in some states at all.
Voting is a right, not a privilege, granted by our founding fathers. Many believe that right is under fire by a new law requiring photo identification at the polls.
"Everyone that is legally entitled to vote will be able to do so, once," said Secretary of the Commonwealth Carol Aichele during a news conference yesterday outlining the simplified process for people to get photo identification.
Pennsylvania passed the voter ID law last month. It requires all voters to show identification each time he or she hits the polls. The law is getting put to the test during the state's April 24 primary. Pennsylvania joined 15 other states around the country with this type of standard.
"There is nothing I want more than to make sure everybody that wants to vote, can," said Governor Nikki Haley, (R) South Carolina.
Governor Halley supports voter ID. The Palmetto State is one of the 16 requiring photo identification at the polls along with PA. Besides those 16, another 16 states require some form of ID, though not necessarily a photo.
"The only way they can win elections is if they suppress votes altogether. That's un-American, that's undemocratic," said Hilary Shelton from the NAACP.
Some activist groups believe the voter ID measures will disenfranchise minority or elderly voters. But polling numbers prove differently. A FOX News poll shows people are in favor of the regulations almost three to 1 with 62 percent of people saying, they don't believe the laws are meant to suppress minority votes.
"Voter ID is to preserve the integrity of every vote, one person, one vote," Aichele said.
Remember, the primary in five days will be a soft launch for the new voter ID law. That means poll workers will ask voters for an ID but it is not required. A person can still vote without that identification. Come November, for the general election, a photo ID will be a requirement.
Here is a list of the identifications that will be accepted at the polls: • Photo IDs issued by the U.S. federal government or the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; • Pennsylvania driver's license or non-driver's license photo ID (IDs are valid for voting purposes 12 months past expiration date); • Valid U.S. passport; • U.S. military ID - active duty and retired military (a military or veteran's ID must designate an expiration date or designate that the expiration date is indefinite). Military dependents' ID must contain an expiration date; • Employee photo ID issued by federal, Pennsylvania state, or a Pennsylvania county or municipal government; • Photo ID cards from an accredited public or private Pennsylvania college or university; or • Photo ID cards issued by a Pennsylvania care facility, including long-term care facilities, assisted living residences or personal care homes.
For more information on what is necessary for voting and the new requirements, click on Votes PA.
NOTE THIS:
Remember, the primary in five days will be a soft launch for the new voter ID law. That means poll workers will ask voters for an ID but it is not required. A person can still vote without that identification. Come November, for the general election, a photo ID will be a requirement.
I see no issue in showing ID. You want to vote you should show you are who you are. simply that. You need to show ID for anything else in life, why does the right to vote differ? Wake up people and smell the fraud...show your ID and keep things moving
I can't smell the fraud over the smell of disenfranchisement.
ALEC Scraps Gun-Law, Voter-ID Task Force
By ADAM SORENSEN | @adamsorensen | April 17, 2012 |
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a Washington nonprofit that brings together conservative lawmakers and corporate representatives to craft state-level legislation, announced on Tuesday it is disbanding its Public Safety and Elections Task Force, a policy group that drafted model bills for voter-ID requirements and “stand your ground” gun laws, among other things. The move came less than two weeks after a series of high-profile corporations had cut ties with the group, spurred in part by the campaigns of liberal advocacy groups that oppose ID mandates and a low bar for invoking self-defense in shooting incidents.
In a statement, a spokeswoman for ALEC characterized the decision as a back-to-basics refocusing on economic issues. “While we recognize there are other critical, noneconomic issues that are vitally important to millions of Americans, we believe we must concentrate on initiatives that spur competitiveness and innovation and put more Americans back to work,” Kaitlyn Buss said.
These noneconomic issues were what created the widening rift between ALEC and some of its corporate members, whose dues provide 98% of ALEC’s budget. While conservative and corporate priorities often mesh on taxes and regulation, the proliferation of bills enacting immigration crackdowns, expanded self-defense rights and voter-ID requirements brought unwanted heat to brand-conscious, public-facing companies like Coca-Cola and Kraft. The shooting death of Trayvon Martin, whose killer may invoke “stand your ground” in his defense, further raised the temperature. By publicly announcing the end of the task force targeting these issues and restating its commitment to an economic mission, ALEC appeared to be trying to soothe bristling business interests.
But the news elides a critical fact: the voter-ID battle in state legislatures is mostly over. The spread of this type of law began in 2003, when legislation was enacted in five states. By the beginning of 2009, it had slowed to a trickle. That’s when ALEC’s Public Safety and Elections Task Force first began drafting model voter-ID bills that legislators could apply in other states. That year, Utah passed a voter-ID bill; the next year, Idaho and Oklahoma did too. In 2011, the year after historic Republican gains in state houses across the country, Kansas, Mississippi, Rhode Island and Wisconsin all enacted similar legislation, while Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas tightened existing ID standards and governors in Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire and North Carolina vetoed strict new measures. Pennsylvania’s governor signed a voter-ID bill into law this March.
Thirty-two states have now enacted voter-ID laws; those that haven’t are either liberal enclaves in the West or Northeast, had a Democratic governor veto a version of the bill or already have legislation pending. The remaining fights either lie in overriding vetoes or legal efforts against court injunctions. As a resource providing lawmakers with new legislation, ALEC doesn’t have much left to do on the issue. “Stand your ground” hasn’t achieved quite the same level of saturation, but it too is widespread: 24 states have adopted similar legislation since Florida enacted its 2005 law, which became the basis for a model bill.
As for its newfound economic focus, ALEC isn’t singing a new song. “Our mission is to promote [free market] principles and policies that are based on them,” Buss, who didn’t immediately return a request for further comment, told TIME for an earlier story. “We don’t do very much with these controversial issues.”
I smell big business and the right wing conservative agenda.
Show me your papers NOW Citizen!
Don't vote? Don't bitch.
The ID requirement does make some sense, but it seems to be motivated by an extreme right wing agenda to ensure Obama doesn't win in the fall. At the same time, how anyone functions in the modern world without Government issued ID is well beyond me, so I am conflicted about how to feel about this.
Over 18% of older Americans do not currently have photo ID; more than 25% of African Americans. If you don't drive, live in the city and don't have a car, don't travel to other countries, I can see why.
Don't you feel much better that its seniors and african americans who will disproportionately be denied the right to vote? Young people too?
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