Voters will go to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 5 to vote for Mayor (a formality), At-Large City Council seats (not a formality this year) and a controversial ballot measure focused on crime victims’ rights.

The drama for City Council District 3 ended in May with the victory of upstart Jamie Gauthier over longtime incumbent Jannie Blackwell. Gauthier has no opponent in tomorrow’s vote. But several third party candidates are keeping the At-Large races interesting.

Seven At-Large candidates will be elected during Tuesday’s general election (polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.). History shows that the five Democratic At-Large candidates – incumbents Allan Domb, Derek Green, Helen Gym, as well as Katherine Gilmore Richardson and Isaiah Thomas – will all likely win easily. Democrats outnumber Republicans seven to one in the city. 

But two of the seven seats have to be filled by non-majority party candidates. Those are usually Republicans, but this year there are viable third party candidates.

Working Families Party candidates Kendra Brooks and Nic O’Rourke, the two most visible third party candidates, have waged spirited campaigns. Brooks, an education advocate from the Nicetown section, won endorsements from The Philadelphia Inquirer (as did Domb, Gym, Richardson and Republican Dan Tinney) and Presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren. O’Rourke is a pastor and organizer for the interfaith advocacy group P.O.W.E.R.

Other third party candidates include attorney and social justice advocate Sherrie Cohen and independents Steve Cherniasky and Joe Cox and Libertarian Maj Toure. Republican candidates include incumbents David Oh and Al Taubenberger, Bill Heeney and West Philly’s Matt Wolfe.

The path to victory for a third party candidate is pretty simple – in theory. Voters can cast ballots for up to five candidates. They have to convince enough Democratic voters to not simply vote for the slate but save one of their five votes for them. Because Philadelphia is so blue, the theory continues, those Democrats will still win, but they will take a third party candidate (or two) – not a Republican – with them.

Brooks, for example, wrote in an open letter earlier this month to the city’s democratic leadership:

“Republican City Council candidates average around 35,000 votes. The Democratic City Council At-large slate will receive over 100,000 votes. My candidacy is not a spoiler candidacy and I intend to work thoughtfully with Democratic colleagues in crafting the type of progressive legislation Philadelphia is becoming known for. Legislation like recently passed protections for workers, support for public schools, and resolutions condemning Donald Trump – Republicans have voted against.”

Check your voter registration here and your polling place here.

Other races and ballot measures include:

Mayor

Jim Kenney (D) vs. Billy Ciancaglini (R). Kenney has prioritized education and keeping the soda tax. Ciancaglini has campaigned on ending Philly’s sanctuary city status and opposing safe injection sites.

Yeah, this one won’t be close.

City Commissioner

The commissioners oversee elections and voter registration in the city. They are elected to 4-year terms with no term limits and they make $130,668 a year each.

Lisa Deeley and Omar Sabir each won Democratic nominations in the spring. Deeley is an incumbent and both are seen as establishment candidates. No party can have more than two seats on the 3-seat commission. That means that Republican commissioner Al Schmidt is pretty much a shoo-in.

Sheriff

Rochelle Bilal’s win in last spring’s Democratic primary ensures that come January, there will be a new sheriff in town. A former police officer, Bilal upset two-term incumbent Jewell Williams. There is no Republican challenger. She will likely be the first woman elected to be sheriff in the 181-year history of the office.

Register of Wills

This one is also a one-woman show. Tracey Gordon notched a rather surprising primary upset over 10-term (yes, he was there for 40 years) incumbent Ron Donatucci. She has no challenger.

Judicial Candidates

A bunch of judicial offices are on the ballot, including Pennsylvania Superior Court Judge, Court of Common Pleas and other municipal and statewide judgeships. The bipartisan group Pennsylvanians for Modern Court has put voting guide together here.

Ballot Measures 

• Crime victims rights

Pennsylvanians will vote on “Marsy’s Law,” a constitutional amendment that supporters hope will give “equal” rights to crime victims. The Pennsylvania chapter of the ACLU has come out against it. The group argues that the “highly problematic language” contained in the bill will further punish defendants while still not providing the support – such as more funding to access support services – that victims’ advocates want.

• Bond for capital expenses

Here’s the question: “Should the City of Philadelphia borrow $185 million to be spent for and toward capital purposes as follows: Transit; Streets and Sanitation; Municipal Buildings; Parks, Recreation and Museums; and Economic and Community Development?”

• Home charter amendment

Here’s the question: “Shall The Philadelphia Home Rule Charter be amended to revise City procurement procedures by increasing the sealed bidding threshold; by providing for procurement from local businesses; and by providing for Procurement Department regulations?”