But the in-person voter turnout will likely be modest for the Houston Hall polling location. On campus move-out is in progress, and with the spring semester over, and friends and family of graduates having left town, campus is nearly devoid of students.
“This year will be a small turnout because of the date, but Penn Leads the Vote did an excellent job with outreach near the end of the semester to get students to sign up for mail-in ballots. Whether they return them, however, is up to them,” says Dawn Maglicco Deitch, executive director of Penn’s Office of Government and Community Affairs.
In Houston Hall’s Bodek Lounge, Penn staff, alumni, and neighbors are serving as this year’s volunteer poll workers. Houston Hall is also President Liz Magill’s polling location. Fresh off the heels of her first Penn Commencement the previous day, Magill prioritized her civic duty to vote before 9 a.m. One benefit of a small in-person turnout: no line.
This year’s municipal primary ballot is a long one: In addition to voting for the Democratic Party’s nominee for mayoral candidate on Nov. 7, there are four ballot measures, and residents will be voting for City Commissioner, Register of Wills, and Sheriff, plus seven at-large Council members and 10 district Council members. Nine candidates are vying to be the Democratic Party’s nominee for mayor. “There is a sizable Democratic majority in the City, so it’s fair to say the Democratic candidate will be elected Philadelphia’s 100th mayor in November,” says Maglicco Deitch. “But you never know—turnout matters in every election.”
Poll worker Fareeha Alam will be a Penn first-year in the fall.
This is Fareeha Alam’s second year as a Philadelphia poll worker. The high school senior at Philadelphia’s Central High School will be a Penn first-year student this fall, and will serve as a poll worker again for the municipal election in November. Alam volunteered last year as a Bangla-language interpreter. “To be honest, it’s pretty cool. I love learning how things work and the whole voting system.” She plans to study psychology at Penn in the fall, but won’t know her polling location until she receives her housing appointment.
Alam is looking forward to voting in November, but not in today’s primary: She doesn’t turn 18 until next month.
“I haven’t actually voted yet because I’m still 17. I’m excited to vote in November.”
Nanoparticle blueprints reveal path to smarter medicines
New research involving Penn Engineering shows detailed variation in lipid nanoparticle size, shape, and internal structure, and finds that such factors correlate with how well they deliver therapeutic cargo to a particular destination.
A generous gift from alumni Glenn and Amanda Fuhrman brings the work of internationally acclaimed artist Jaume Plensa to the University of Pennsylvania. The latest addition to the Penn Art Collection expands Philadelphia's public art.
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For nearly a decade, Leigh Stearns and collaborators aimed a laser scanner system at Greenland’s Helheim Glacier. Their long-running survey reveals that Helheim’s massive calving events don’t behave the way scientists once thought, reframing how ice loss contributes to sea-level rise.
