On Thursday, May 14, Germantown Info Hub co-researcher Letrell Crittenden spoke with Philadelphia City Commissioner Omar Sabir about voter registration and voting in the June 2 primary election and restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Election day is not gonna look like any election you’ve ever seen,” Sabir said.
Sabir urged Germantown voters to request a mail-in ballot online. Data shows that there are areas in Philadelphia with very few requests for mail-in ballots, while neighborhoods like Center City have had a comparatively high number of requests.
“The fifth and eighth ward are two of the largest Center City wards and as of May 12th they’ve applied for 9000 mail-in [ballots]”, Sabir said. He said that in comparison, the 50th ward in the northwest, a community comprised mostly of “black and brown” residents, only submitted “1700 applications.”
While the push is on to get registered Philadelphians to vote by mail in the primary, there is still the the option to vote in-person. But due to the pandemic, Philadelphia will see an over a 75% decrease in polling locations.
The Germantown Info Hub, in partnership with G’town Radio, will continue to host community call-in discussions during the coronavirus outbreak. To suggest a topic, email us at Gtown.infohub@gmail.com and follow #Gtowninfohubradio.
