Starting Wednesday, May 5, Philadelphia voters participating in the 2021 Primary Election will be able to drop off their mail-in or absentee ballots at mobile ballot drop-off events, organized by the Philadelphia City Commissioners.

Numerous voted ballot frop-off events, staffed by the personnel from the Board of Elections, have been scheduled at various locations around the city, including in several West Philly neighborhoods: Continue Reading

President Joe Biden will visit the 30th Street Station on Friday, April 30, to mark the 50th anniversary of Amtrak, according to reports. Biden’s visit is part of his “Getting America Back on Track” tour marking his first 100 days in office.

During his visit, Biden is also expected to advocate for his $2.3 trillion infrastructure and jobs plan, which includes $80 billion funding for Amtrak.

Amen Brown (Photo from pahouse.com).

Amen Brown, a first-term lawmaker representing Philadelphia’s 190th Legislative District, which includes several West Philly neighborhoods, joined Attorney General Josh Shapiro this week to announce an historic agreement with the state’s largest gun show promoter, Eagle Arms, to ban sales of “ghost gun” kits at its shows. Brown reached out to the Eagle Arms owner and explained the devastation these kits were doing to the West Philadelphia communities he represents and communities across the city and the state.

“Ghost guns,” also known as “80 percent receivers,” are partially manufactured firearms that can be fairly easily fashioned into working guns. They typically have no commercial serial numbers. Nearly 250 ghost guns were recovered in Philadelphia last year. Continue Reading

While the presidential election has been the focus of most media in the last several days, here are the results for local politicians.

Overall, 709,767 ballots were cast in the Nov. 3 election in Philadelphia (62.85 percent of all registered voters), according to unofficial results provided by the Office of the Philadelphia City Commissioners. 356,125 ballots were cast at the polls and 353,642 ballots were cast by mail (so far). As of this morning, mail-in ballots are still being counted in the city and it may take a few more days to finish processing them.  Continue Reading

The 2020 General Election voter turnout was high in the Philadelphia area, including in West Philly. Dozens of polling places were open in West Philadelphia for in-person voting and long lines were reported shortly after 7 a.m. on Tuesday at many voting locations in the area:

We’re visiting polling sites across West/Southwest Philly all day today. First up: Mt. Olivet Church on N. 41st.

Lines were already long but we came with masks and hand sanitizer to hand out. pic.twitter.com/LNmeBGwW53

— Councilmember Jamie Gauthier (@CouncilmemberJG) November 3, 2020

Lines considerably decreased by 9 a.m. and voting went quite smoothly.  Continue Reading

It’s General Election Eve and here are a few things to keep in mind about the big day tomorrow.

Those who haven’t voted early can vote in person tomorrow. There are dozens of polling places around West Philadelphia; to find your polling place, go here. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Your ID is not required to vote unless you are voting for the first time or have recently moved. As long as you are in line by 8 p.m., you can vote.

Please note that these polling places are not for dropping off your mail or absentee ballot. You can still drop it off at one of the City’s Satellite Election offices created to help with mail-in voting (there are two offices in West Philly). You can also request a new mail ballot if yours hasn’t arrived yet, then fill it out and return it. These offices will stay open through Election Day. Their hours are 11:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m., but they will accept dropped off ballots until 8 p.m. on Tuesday. Continue Reading