Penn’s Office of Government and Community Affairs (OGCA) is recruiting volunteers to help at six of the eight polling places on campus for the Pennsylvania primary election on Tuesday, May 16. To qualify, individuals must be registered to vote in Philadelphia and be available to work from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. 

Meals and breaks are provided throughout the day, as well as a stipend from the City of Philadelphia. To volunteer, or for more information, email ogca@exchange.upenn.edu or call 215-898-1388.

“We recruit volunteers to stress the importance of voting, and to get the word out about civic engagement,” says Jordan Gallo, OGCA’s administrative coordinator. “We get a lot of students involved as volunteers. It’s important for them to be a part of the process of voting.”

Penn is recruiting volunteers for two more polling places than in previous years. The timing is challenging, Gallo says, because the primary election is after finals and Commencement, when most of the students will have left campus for the summer. 

The polling places staffed by Penn volunteers are: Division 3 in Room 108 in the ARCH; Division 11 at the Iron Gate Theatre; Division 18 in Vance Hall lobby; Division 20 in the Harrison College House lobby; Division 21 in the Harnwell College House lobby; and Division 22 in the Houston Hall Reading Room. The two other polling locations on campus are Division 19 in The ARCH lobby, and Division 5 in Civic House.

There are five volunteer jobs at each polling place: judge of elections, who monitors all operations; majority inspector, minority inspector, and clerk, who manage the poll book where voters sign in; and the machine inspector, who flips the switch and makes sure the voting machine is ready.

The May 16 primary includes two ballot measures for all registered voters in Philadelphia. The primary for Democrat and Republican candidates includes the state Justice of the Supreme Court, Judge of the Superior Court, and Judge of the Commonwealth; the district Judge of the Court of Common Pleas; and the city Judge of the Municipal Court, the District Attorney of Philadelphia, and the City Controller of Philadelphia. Pennsylvania has closed primaries, so voters must be registered as a Democrat or a Republican.

For more information about the election, visit www.philadelphiavotes.com.