It’s Finally Primary Day! Here’s What You Need to Know

You’ll encounter a digital voting booth like the one behind this curtain during the Philadelphia primary election. (Getty Images)

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It’s Finally Philadelphia Primary Day!

Glory, glory, hallelujah. It’s finally here. After way too many months of campaign ads, debate blunders and indecision, the primary election is upon us.

Polls opened statewide at 7 a.m. and remain open until 8 p.m. — or until the last voter in line by 8 p.m. has had a chance to vote.

If you voted recently in Philadelphia, you’ll recognize the digital touch-screen voting machines. You get a paper ballot at the check-in desk. You put said ballot into the voting machine. The big screen inside the booth shows you the candidates you can vote for. And you do your thing. Simple.

The main change at your polling place from the last time we did this is the check-in process. Remember the old books where the election workers would find your name and ask you to sign next to your entry? Those books are now touch-screen pads. The poll worker will type your name in and then you use your finger or the stylus to sign the screen.

If you have no idea who will be on your ballot for the Philadelphia primary, you can enter your Pennsylvania address here and view your sample ballot before you go to the polls. To check your registration status, use this easy lookup tool.

Uh, So Who Are These People Running for Mayor?

It sounds like you need to read our Ultimate Voter’s Guide to the 2023 Philadelphia Mayoral Race. ASAP!

Dude, Where’s My “I Voted” Sticker?

This is one of many complaints officials and poll workers hear during every election in Philadelphia. I’m pretty sure said officials and poll workers have better things to do than worry about you getting an “I Voted” sticker. But if you encounter an actual problem, here’s what to do.

No Oh!

There’s been lots of talk about the Democratic candidates for mayor. But what about the Republican candidates? Okay, make that candidate. Singular. There’s only one, and that’s former City Councilmember David Oh, who had to resign in order to run for mayor.

But the Republican City Committee, which did endorse Oh for mayor, snubbed him by leaving him off of the committee’s sample ballot that’s being distributed at polling places today.

(Photo courtesy of David Oh)

Why? Infighting, of course, because of the candidates Oh endorsed (and declined to endorse) in various races around town.

“Here’s the official Philadelphia Republican City Committee sample ballot,” Oh wrote on social media of the snub. “Note that the endorsed Mayoral candidate, DAVID OH #108, is not included. I don’t have an opponent so I’ll win. I am a very independent-minded person. … ”

Of course, Oh has virtually no chance of becoming the next mayor, since Philadelphia is a Democratic stronghold. But still. Gotta hurt.

By the Numbers

81: Forecasted high today in Philadelphia, which should help turnout. Today is the only day we’re supposed to get into the 80s for the next week.

4: Number of mayoral candidates on my too-long shortlist.

3.9 percent: Margin of error in the final mayoral poll, and with the front-runners polling anywhere from 14 to 21 percent, the race is a virtual tie.

300,000: Projected number of voters in the Philadelphia primary. About a third of those are expected to be using mail-in voting.

1: Helen Gym’s voter number at her local polling place.

3: Candidates who showed up to vote at the same time in Rittenhouse Square. Jeff Brown, Allan Domb and Rebecca Rhynhart are all neighbors.

And from the Oh-Woe Sports Desk …

The Phils game against the Giants in San Francisco didn’t get going until 9:45, which is asking a lot of people after that Mother’s Day weekend, but whatever. Connor Brogdon started for the Phils, which would be kind of different and interesting if the Phils pitching staff wasn’t in such dire straits of late. Brogdon gave up two singles and a walk to load the bases in the bottom of the first, and there was a meeting on the mound, and though I’m no lip-reader, I swear he said “Oh fuck.” But he struck out the next batter, whereupon Rob Thomson pulled him after a whole two-thirds of an inning. Hello, Bailey Falter! And he struck Brandon Crawford out. Whew.

Alex Wood led off the pitching for the Giants and walked Kyle Schwarber, then gave up a long homer to Alec Bohm. Nice! In the second, though, all hell broke loose for Falter, as he gave up two singles and Stott made, as they say, a costly error.

Bryson Stott dropped a throw at second base for an error to load the bases. It's his first ever error as a second baseman. Errorless streak ends at 84 games, longest streak at second base to begin a Phillies career, according to @EliasSports

— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) May 16, 2023

Michael Conforto homered, J.D. Davis doubled, Mitch Haniger and Brandon Crawford singled … gad, it was 6-2 Giants, most of the damage coming with two outs. Goddamn.

Hey, guess who the Giants’ manager is? Does the name Gabe Kapler ring a bell? In the fifth, Gabe sent in Jakob Junis for Wood. The Phils got one back in the sixth on a Harper single, two walks and a Bohm sac fly. Bellatti replaced Falter in the bottom of the inning, then was replaced in the seventh by Jeff Hoffman, who had a strong inning.

Jeff Hoffman has the type of stuff that Gabe Kapler would say is "nasty, brother."

— Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) May 16, 2023

Taylor Rodgers replaced Giants reliever Scott Alexander for the eighth and got two outs before Schwarber walked and Realmuto singled, bringing Bohm up again. Another pitching change: Camilo Doval. And Alec struck out. Weird game note:

Phillies are about to lose a game in which they gave up 0 earned runs… it amazes me how they figure out ways to lose games

— Talkin' 215 (@Talkin215) May 16, 2023

Ninth inning: Marsh led off with a walk. Kody Clemens was brought in as a pinch hitter, batting all of .184. Okay. A long at-bat, but he struck out. Marsh took second on a wild pitch, but Stott lined out on a lucky catch by J.D. Davis. Turner popped up, and that was all she wrote. They’ll play it again tomorrow night, same time, same place.

All Philly Today Sports Desk coverage is provided by Sandy Hingston.