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HOW & WHY TO BECOME A MEMBER OF
THE ELECTIONS BOARD
A Non-partisan Workshop Sponsored by the Philadelphia Chapter of the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW) and the Philadelphia Chapter of the National Organization for Women; with the assistance of Delco NOW and Delaware-Chester Counties CLUW.
January 2017
WOMEN’S VOICES IN GOVERNMENT
One hundred sixty-nine years ago (July 19-20, 1848 in Seneca Falls, NY) women launched a campaign to win the right to vote for women in all states in the United States of America. They objected to being governed by laws in which they had no say. It took 72 years of hard work to win the right to vote. Since 1920 women have had the right to vote; however, women have yet to achieve political representation in proportion to their numbers. Although women have made considerable progress, women are under-represented in all parts of government. It is time to make a concerted effort to change that.
From Pennsylvania Center for Women and Politics at Chatham University and Center for Women & Politics
Where we are in Pennsylvania and Philadelphia:
Pennsylvania:
In Philadelphia, 6 of 17 (35.3%) of city council members are women, a significantly higher percentage than in the Pennsylvania General Assembly where 17.7% of the House and 18.7of the senate are women.
No US Senator from Pennsylvania has ever been a woman. Only seven PA women have served in the US House of Representatives.
Currently there are no women in the PA Congressional Delegation.
Consistent with patterns nation-wide, women in our city and state have been more successful winning legislative than executive positions. Pennsylvania has never had a women governor; Philadelphia has never had a women mayor governor. There are 4 female Mayors in PA, none are around Philadelphia: York, State College, Penn Hills and Mount Lebanon.
There are several organizations providing encouragement and
training for women interested in running for office: Emerge PA;
Ready to Run, PA; and Represent PAC. Despite the efforts of
these groups progress has been slow.
WHAT IS THE ELECTION BOARD?
In Pennsylvania three poll workers in each election precinct/division are elected by their neighbors for a four year term. There are about 1,700 election precincts/divisions in Philadelphia and thus there are about 5,100 elected positions for poll workers city-wide. In Delaware County (Delco), there are 430 precincts with 1290 elected positions.
How to Become a Member of the Elections Board Multi-County PA Handbook 2017
Terminology is different in every county, township and borough. The smallest political unit is precinct/division which is where you’re Polling Station is located. Precincts/divisions are in districts/wards of your county or township; or if you are in a borough it is your borough. In this handbook we will use precinct/division and district/ward, because they are most commonly used.
The City of Philadelphia is in the County of Philadelphia.
Your Voter Registration Card will have the information on it that is specific to you.
Attached is the Handbook. Petitions are Due March 7th. If you miss the Petition Due Date, we will be hosting another training in April on How & Why to Run for Elections Board as a Write-In Campaign.
Download:
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