The midterm election this year is on Nov. 3, and if students are registered to vote using Eastern’s address, their polling place will be at Wayne Presbyterian. If Eastern students aren’t voting using Eastern University’s address, they can go to ballotpedia.org to check what is on their ballot.
Pennsylvania’s current governor, Josh Shapiro, is up for reelection after his first term began in 2023. Running against the Democrat are Republican Stacy Garrity and Libertarian Ken Krawchuk.
Garrity is currently the Pennsylvania state treasurer and is running on a “make life affordable again” campaign, focused on cutting taxes and wasteful spending in Harrisburg. Self-described as “a strong ally of President Trump,” she stands with him in “protecting healthcare and welfare benefits for vulnerable Americans” as well as enforcing strong federal immigration policies through the use of ICE officers. Garrity’s running mate is Jason Richey, a current attorney who also wants to expand Pennsylvania’s natural gas development.
Libertarian Krawchuk is currently an entrepreneur who is running on the promise of privatizing public schools, vetoing all tax increases and eliminating mail-in ballots. His goal is to send each child a voucher for the amount of money a typical private school would cost and let parents decide which private school would fit their child best.
Shapiro, the current governor, and the current lieutenant governor, Austin Davis, are hoping to continue what they started with: making better schools, investing in law enforcement for safe communities and creating better-paying jobs. In their previous term, they provided free breakfast to Pennsylvania students and invested in technical education courses for public schools. In regard to ICE in Pennsylvania, Shapiro shared, “I will continue to protect public safety […] while standing up to reckless federal policies that harm our communities.”
Specific to Eastern’s address, the other races up for election are the U.S. representative for District 5 and Pennsylvania state representative for District 168.
The U.S. representative race is between current congresswoman and Democrat Mary Gay Scanlon and Republican Nick Manganaro. Scanlon’s platform is to make everyday life more affordable, as well as “robust anti-corruption reform.” She is also pushing Congress to reinstate ACA subsidies to increase support for Medicare and Medicaid.
Manganaro is also concerned with affordability and balancing the budget. He is in favor of ICE officers’ continual performance in deporting undocumented immigrants and developing new nuclear energy plants in Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania state representative is between current representative, Democrat Lisa A. Borowski and Republican Kathryn Buckley. Borowski wants to improve healthcare access, lower the cost of living, protect women’s rights and is encouraging more research about the “potential impacts on the environment” that data centers may cause.
Buckley supports fully funding law enforcement, creating more jobs and reducing standardized testing in school in favor of teaching kids real-world skills. Additionally, she has promised to oppose any proposed tax increases.
On any Delaware County ballot, citizens will be asked to vote yes or no on the Natural Land Conservation Bond Measure. Voting yes will support Delco using up to $120 million in debt to finance natural land conservation, while a no vote opposes this protection.
If students are unsure if they are registered to vote, go to vote.org to check; the registration period for Pennsylvania ends Oct. 19. If students are voting via an absentee ballot, visit vote411.org for a breakdown of the candidates and what their platform is.
