PHILADELPHIA IS GETTING OUT THE VOTE BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY! EARLY VOTING AND MOBILE VOTING

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

 Hello All: 

We are less than 40 days from the 2020 presidential election, and Philadelphians have been making some bold moves to make sure their votes are counted.  Several nuances have taken effect that will make it easier for Philadelphians/Pennsylvanians to vote.  These are among the top three:

I. Voting Satellite Sites in Philadelphia

Philadelphia is on the move to make sure all our votes count, and all our voters get to the polls. 2020 is the most pivotal election ever in the history of the US Presidential Elections. Votes have been stolen. Apathy, suppression, disenfranchisement, gerrymandering, foreign intervention are rampant; lies, partisanship, treason,  and disrespect are rife across the nation, and around the world.   In the midst of all this, a pandemic threatened voter turn out.  The City Commissioner, the Committee of 70, and other officials have been working hard on alternatives.  

Til now, Pennsylvania did not offer early voting.  There were also many other antiquated protocols that had to be scrapped if voters were going to be able to exercise their constitutional right to vote with out impediment.  As a result, for the first time EARLY VOTING IS NOW OFFERED IN PHILADELPHIA - sort of.  While they don't have the electronic voting machines, they have opened 17 satellite polling places in order to allow voters to register and vote on the spot using paper ballots.  It's one stop voting for those who want to avoid the lines.   It's not perfect, and it's a first for Philadelphia, but it's  an extremely important move in the right direction.  It's essential to facilitate early voting, and other alternatives, in an area where the mail system has been hacked; 1.4 million mail in votes were declined during the Primary, and voter apathy is a major factor that impacts the massive turnout necessary to turn Pennsylvania from red to BLUE

According to City Commissioner Chairwoman, Lisa Deeley, “This has been a tremendous effort by our department, the School District of Philadelphia, The Office of Innovation and Technology, the Department of State, and Comcast to get these sites selected and ready to operate over the past few months. With these offices, we could make it easier and much more convenient for the voters of Philadelphia to exercise their vote and have their voice heard this fall.”

The satellites will be opened every day, beginning on Tuesday,  September 29, 2020.  

Monday through Thursday: 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.  

Friday through Sunday 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 

Voting Satellite Sites in Philadelphia 

1. City Hall Room 140 

2. Liacouras Center 1776 N. Broad  

3. Columbus Boulevard at Spring Garden, (Riverview Place 1st Floor) 4.

 

#	Region	Location	Address	Zip
1	Center City	City Hall Room 140	1400 John F Kennedy Blvd	19107
2	Center City	Riverview Place, 1st Floor	520 N Columbus Blvd	19123
3	Far Northeast	George Washington High School	10175 Bustleton Ave	19116
4	Far Northeast	Joseph H. Brown School	3600 Stanwood St	19136
5	Lower Northeast	Harding Middle School	2000 Wakeling Street	19124
6	Lower Northeast	J Hampton Moore School	6900 Summerdale Ave	19111
7	North	The Liacouras Center	1776 N Broad St	19121
8	Northwest	A. B. Day School	6324 Crittenden St	19138
9	Northwest	Roxborough High School	6498 Ridge Ave	19128
10	River	Mastbaum High School	3116 Frankford Ave	19134
11	South	Creative And Performing Arts	901 S Broad St	19147
12	Southwest	Tilden Middle School	6601 Elmwood Ave	19142
13	Upper North	Feltonville Intermediate School	238 E Wyoming Ave	19120
14	Upper North	Julia De Burgos Elementary	401 W Lehigh Ave	19133
15	Upper North	Julia Ward Howe School	5800 N 13Th St	19141
16	West	Alain Locke School	4550 Haverford Ave	19139
17	West	Overbrook Elementary School	2032 N 62Nd St	19151

II.  PA VOTES available for those with criminal records:  There may still be those who have a criminal record, but have served their time, as to whether or not they are eligible to register an vote. And the answer is yes! Depending on certain conditions. To find out what your rights and responsibilities are, click on this link.  Don't procrastinate on this - The deadline for  registering to vote in the November 3, 2020 election is October 19 - and your vote counts! https://www.votespa.com/Register-to-Vote/Pages/Convicted-Felon,-Misdemeanant-or-Pretrial-Detainee.aspx

 

III. In addition to Early Voting options,  the newly formed MOBILE VOTERS.PA(c) is organizing to transport voters to the polls on election day. The concept came about as a result of T-rump's effort to cripple mail in votes by hiring Dejoy to dismantle the US Postal service.

Voter confusion abounded around Pennsylvania due to consolidated polling places during June 2, 2020 presidential primary, causing turnout to drop by 40%.  MOBILE VOTERS PA(c) says to voters, you don't have to be confused about your polling local, "just get on the bus!"  We are providing free transportation to  get you to your correct polling place and back home - with corona-preventive methods, including face masks, hand sanitizers, and other appropriate preventative methods to get you there and back safely and  in good health.

MOBILE VOTERS.PA(c) was conceived of after it became apparent that the current incumbent was stopping at nothing to deprive us of our right to vote, clearly by illegal and nefarious means, totally disregarding and disrespecting both the dignity of the office of the Presidency and the rights of the American people to vote their choice without impediment, coersion, blockage, difficulty or delay.  The flagrant disregard for any kind of propriety, not even a pretense of a sense of decency or integrity, made us realize that the only way we could be truly sure that our votes would be counted, delivered, registered and respected was to vote in person. 

That said, the means by which we transport thousands of Philadelphians - young, old, apathetic, Black, white, Latinx, Asian - is to provide buses to transport them to and from the polls free of charge.  And, since long lines were a result of the confusion of not knowing where the polls were located to,  MOBILE VOTERS.PA(c) is also working in conjunction with the newly founded John Lewis Chairs to the Polls Initiative, so those who have difficulty standing for long periods of time can sit until it is their time to vote.   MOBILE VOTERS.PA(c) has been endorsed by Black Women For Positive Change, and will be working across the board in their get out the vote efforts and phone banks.   

The one thing that cannot be disputed is "in person voting." But with so many polls closed or relocated, many don't know where to go vote. If that's you,  contact:  mobilevoters.pa@gmail.com, or 267.416.0177 -  and make reservations, or volunteer to help us help others. 

 As we continue to ramp up the process, we are looking for donors, contributors to underwrite obtaining the buses,  volunteers and field people to help make this a success -  Philadelphia has a treasure trove of Churches, Sororities, Fraternities, Community organizations, and individuals - we  are likewise inviting you to work with us to make this a success.

 

The objective is to literally pick up voters from their various wards, provide free, safe transportation to the polls so they can vote, and then transport them back home. We are also seeking Non-emergency transport vehicles so that voters with disability and mobility issues will also be accommodated.  WE will be working with local school buses, insured drivers, as well as church vans and other volunteered vehicles.  

 

Many people  are reluctant to take public transportation because of the Corona Virus; and thousands of Senior Citizens have had their polls shut down. MOBILE VOTERS.PA(c) addresses this problem in a creative, pro-active manner, by providing private, corona-free, sanitary transportation to and from the polls.  This will be done on Election Day on an ongoing rotational basis - starting at 6:30AM, when the polls open, and culminating at 8:00PM, when the polls close.

Like many, we were initially confident that voting by mail would be safe, until we learned that 1.4 million mail in votes were denied in the June 2, 2020 Pennsylvania primary; and that the US Postal service was being dismantled. At this juncture, the only true way to ensure that our votes are counted is to vote in person.  There are over 900 polling places in the city of Philadelphia - down from an initial 1200; and over 970,450 registered voters in Philadelphia county, most of whom don't know where their new polling places are.  Polls have been moved, closed down or conflated.  By updating the polling location information, we can cut down on the confusion by assigning buses to the appropriate wards/polls, and setting up appointments with the voters to  pick them up. 

It has been predicted that if we are able to carry voters to the polls, we can increase voter turnout by 40 to 60%

In order to facilitate this MOBILE VOTERS' mission and make it a successful effort, we are hoping you want help us make this a decisive victory.  We cannot do this alone.  This affects us all.  We also are not keeping this a secret.  We want to see Mobile Voters replicated throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, etc.  The South already has a similar program called SOULS TO THE POLLS, which has been in effect for at least 6 years now.

If you are interested in making this project a success, please feel free to contact: mobilevoters.pa.@gmail.com, or call/text 267.416.0177

MOBILE VOTERS.PA(c) is working to safeguard our right to vote by motivating and mobilizing voters to the polls. 

NYTIMES ARTICLE 9/28/2020:  In Year of Voting by Mail, a Scramble to Beef Up In-Person Voting, Too:  https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/07/us/politics/vote-in-person-covid.html

ECLECTICALLY BLACK NEWS BLOG POST 9/1/2020:  T-RUMP DESTROYED THE US MAIL! SO WE MUST ORGANIZE MOBILE VOTERS to Get Out The Votes    https://gloria-dulan-wilson.blogspot.com/2020/09/time-to-organize-national-voter-mobiles.html

NOW THAT YOU KNOW

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT? 

Stay Blessed & 

ECLECTICALLY BLACK 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gloria Dulan-Wilson