Voter's Guide 2022

VOTER’S GUIDE

(Clockwise from top left) Photo by Jose F. Moreno | The Philadelphia Inquirer, Photo by Jesse Zhang, Photo by Yong Kim | The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Photo by Ana Glassman.

TYLER

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JESSE

ASAAD

What's at stake for Pennsylvanians in November's midterm elections

The results from these midterms will have direct consequences for Americans' everyday lives, including Penn students

IMRAN SIDDIQUI Senior Reporter

In less than two weeks, Americans across the country will cast their bal lots in November’s midterm elections. Across the nation, many eyes are turned to Pennsylvania, a key state that may determine which party will wield politi cal power for the foreseeable future.

With contentious races for gover nor and Senate in Pennsylvania, The Daily Pennsylvanian spoke with Penn community members about how the upcoming Nov. 8 elections’ results will have direct consequences on Ameri cans’ everyday lives, including Penn

students — particularly regarding abortion access and the future of each political party.

College senior and Penn Govern ment and Politics Association President Joshua Rose said that while politicians and the news tend to portray every

election as the most crucial one yet, this year’s midterms are particularly impor tant because the country is in a state of flux, with both Democrats and Republi cans learning how to navigate politics in the wake of Donald Trump's presidency.

“The effect of all this transition

DESIGN BY LILIAN LIU

happening in the last few elections is falling on this midterm,” Rose said. “We are at a crossroads here. What type of politicians are going to be elected? Who is going to turn out to vote?”

This November, Democrats could lose control of the House of Representatives and the Senate to Republicans — who are looking to consolidate their power under the second half of President Joe Biden’s term. Nearly three-quarters of states have their gubernatorial seats up for election. And, on a more local scale, 88 of the United States' 99 state legisla tures will hold their elections this year.

Due to Pennsylvania’s demographic breakdown, political science profes sor Matt Levendusky said that the state “has been and will continue to be a swing state,” leading to high-profile elections with national importance this year.

Senate

The U.S. Senate currently sits at a 50-50 split, with Vice President Kamala Harris acting as the tiebreaker vote, so the results from any state could shift the balance of power for the next two years.

After Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) announced that he wouldn’t seek reelection following his current term in the Senate, a wide range of candi dates positioned themselves to fill the vacancy. Pennsylvania's competitive primary election has left Republican Mehmet Oz to face Democrat Lt. Gov. John Fetterman on the general election ballot.

Rose said that candidates on both sides of the aisle have made congressio nal control a main component of their campaign.

Pennsylvania's Senate seat has the highest chance to be flipped to the Democrats, according to College and Wharton sophomore Joshua Frazier — a political director for Penn College Re publicans. When the balance of power in the Senate is so close, he said, every election matters even more, and — for Republicans — this election represents an opportunity to change the current status quo.

“We've currently seen the failure of

the past two years,” Frazier said. “Dem ocrats have controlled the House, the Senate, and the White House, and this is the muck and mire that we are currently in economically. We need to change it by electing Republicans.”

College senior and Penn Democrats President Emilia Onuonga agreed that these midterms are “one of our coun try’s most important elections,” but highlighted the need for candidates who are in support of protecting reproduc tive rights on the federal level.

Onounga said that Fetterman is the “best candidate in the race right now” because he has reliably been in favor of protecting abortion access for years.

While Onounga said she believes that stances on abortion will be a primary reason that college-aged voters will go to the polls this November, she said that there are many other issues that the Senate will address over the next two years that also require close attention, like student loan debt relief.

Levendusky said that Biden’s recently announced student loan debt relief plan, a program that provides eligible bor rowers with full or partial discharge of loans based on their individual or family income, may be in jeopardy if Republicans take control of the Senate — explaining that executive actions “do not supersede legislation.”

“When the opposing party controls Congress, that makes [Biden’s] life that much harder because they can then take steps to block any of those actions,” Le vendusky said.

Frazier said that he believes Fetter man is too liberal on important policy positions, including government spend ing and supervised injection sites. He said that in swing states, like Pennsyl vania, the average voter tends to pick the candidate that is less extreme. For the Senate race, he said that this would point toward Oz.

“Oz tends to be the less far-leaning candidate,” Frazier said. “Normal, working-class Americans who are tired of political divides and not having healthy discourse want to see some one who will represent their voice and

politics.”

Governor

With Gov. Tom Wolf’s (D-Pa.) term ending this year, Pennsylvanians will either elect Democrat Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro or Re publican State Sen. Doug Mastriano as the state’s 48th governor this November.

While some governors push them selves into the national spotlight for specific issue areas of concern, Rose said that they tend to act more locally with policies catered to the specific state.

Onounga said that Mastriano’s view on abortion, offering no exception for incest, rape, or protecting the life of the mother, are “extremely harsh.”

“It is going to be the governors who are deciding restrictions and potentially enacting bans on individual's right to choose to have an abortion,” Onounga said. “So it is even more important that we have people going out and voting to protect this right.”

While Frazier said that Mastriano’s policy positions tend to be more ex treme than Shapiro’s views, he said that it is important to recognize that college students’ views are not representative of the views of the average American.

“Students' views on abortion at Penn are over overwhelmingly one-sided relative to the rest of the nation,” Fra zier said. “Republicans at the national level do not want to completely ban it at all. We just want to have a conversation about the normal regulations.”

Besides reproductive health free doms, Levendusky explained that Shapiro and Mastriano also differ on their views for general spending and voting access.

For example, he said that Pennsylva nia's Act 77 — which allowed mail-in ballots — originally passed with bi partisan support and little controversy. Now, however, if Republicans in the legislature tried to remove it, Shapiro would veto this legislation while Mas triano would actively try to support it.

Outside of specific policy beliefs, Onounga said that it is “crazy in and of itself” that this is a decision between

Shapiro and an “insurrectionist,” refer ring to Mastriano.

Mastriano attended the Jan. 6 rally for Trump — who has endorsed Mastri ano’s candidacy — and he more recently spoke with the congressional committee investigating the insurrection.

National Discourse

As the first general election since the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol last year, many Republicans have pushed election integrity as a key issue during their campaigns.

Levendusky said that years of aca demic research have pointed to the conclusion that there is no evidence of meaningful voter fraud in the United States.

Frazier agreed that large-scale fraud is unlikely in the United States and Americans can have faith in the results, but he added that it is unfair to shut down all claims of collusion or corrup tion without looking into the issue.

Outside of voter fraud, this year’s midterms also have made people question the future directions of the Democratic and Republican parties.

For the Democratic party, both Fra zier and Onounga agreed that many Americans do not feel excited about Biden as their leader.

“Democrats, a lot of the time, have been playing it safe, which would be sticking with a more moderate posi tion,” Onounga said. “It would be exciting if we had someone who is more hopeful and has more progressive ide ologies.”

After many Trump-endorsed can didates won their primary elections earlier this year, Onounga said that it is “unfortunate” that this seems to be the direction of the Republican Party.

Frazier said he was less confident that the future of the GOP will lean toward Trump’s ideals. He said that the results from this year’s election will set the tone for the future of each party.

“As a nation, we are at a turning point where we don't really have a clear vision or a clear leader in either party,” Fra zier said. “There just needs to be more young blood in each party.”

63% of Penn students cite Roe v. Wade reversal as motivator to vote in midterms, DP poll finds

JARED MITOVICH, ANMOL DASH, JIN KWON, & KARAN SAMPATH Data Stories Reporters

A Daily Pennsylvanian poll found that Democrats Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro lead their Republican opponents by wide margins among Penn undergrad uates in their respective races.

Respondents were asked to indicate which candidates they intend to vote

for — if they are voting — in the Nov. 8 elections for Pennsylvania senator and governor. The survey also asked respon dents to identify issues and events they considered to be the most pertinent in the midterm elections and to rate their ap proval of President Joe Biden.

Over 87% of the surveyed students

Josh Shapiro has wide lead over Doug Mastriano in Pa. governor race

Numbers represent what percent of students consider the issue to be among their three most important issues.

who said they are eligible to vote also said that they will vote in the election, the vast majority of whom plan to vote for Fetterman for senator and Shapiro for governor. About 73% of respondents described themselves as Democrats and about 8% identified as Republicans. 18.1% of those surveyed described their

political affiliation as Independent.

The anonymous survey, which ran from Oct. 11 to Oct. 26, garnered 346 re sponses from the Class of 2023 through the Class of 2026. An additional 26 responses identified themselves as grad uate students or Penn faculty.

John Fetterman leads Mehmet Oz for U.S. Senate

"Who do you plan to vote for Pennsylvania senator?" broken down by school. Numbers represent percentages.

Shapiro enjoys a 78% to 7% lead over Republican candidate State Sen. Doug Mastriano. Across all four undergraduate schools, Shapiro has the highest rate of sup port among students in the School of Arts and Sciences.

A similar story is evident in the

Pennsylvania senate race. Fetterman has the support of three in four respondents. Republican senate nominee Mehmet Oz, a 1986 Wharton MBA and Perelman School of Medicine graduate, performs a few per centage points better than his counterpart in the governor's race, Mastriano.

Marc Trussler, the director of data sci ences at the Penn Program on Opinion Research and Election Studies, told the DP that the results of the survey were "broadly what I would expect," noting that young people and people with higher levels of education — like Penn students — are

generally more supportive of Democratic candidates.

"Those two things combined would lead us to believe that Penn students would be more supportive of Democratic candidates, and that's exactly what we're seeing here," Trussler said.

Josh Shapiro (D)

Josh Shapiro (D)

Doug Mastriano (R)

Doug Mastriano (R)

Abortion is the top issue of the midterms among Penn students

Issues

When given a list of political issues, re spondents cited abortion, the environment, and social issues as the three issues that are most important to them. Among Republican students, abortion ranks lower than crime and economic outlook. 59% of Republican respon dents ranked economic outlook among their

three most important issues, compared to just 18% of Democratic respondents.

In line with the results of the survey, Penn Democrats members have seen many stu dents interested in maintaining reproductive rights this semester, according to Penn Dems

Membership Director and College junior Leo

Cassel-Siskind.

Similarly to how abortion is the top issue of the midterms among Penn students, 63% of respondents indicated that the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade severely impacted their voting choice or incentive to vote. That number increases to 70% among

only Democratic respondents. Nearly half of Republican respondents — 48% — ranked the Russia-Ukraine War as one of the top recent events driving their vote, while only 10% of all respondents said the FBI raid of former Presi dent Donald Trump was a motivating factor.

gun control ranks highly as a top

War in Ukraine drives Republicans; Roe v. Wade motivates Democrats

COVID-19

Ukraine War

among both parties, there is a wider disparity between the shares of Democrats and Republicans that said recent mass shoot ings impacted their voting choice. 51% of Democrats said mass shootings affected their motivation to vote, compared to just 19% of Republicans.

the gubernatorial race, Trussler said that one of the questions that could impact the results is how much Mastriano's relationship to the Jan. 6 insurrection and "the more ex treme side" of the Republican Party "is going to matter." Among those who listed the Jan. 6 insurrection as a recent event that moti vated their vote, just 2% planned to vote for Mastriano for governor, while 85% preferred Shapiro.

survey indicated low approval for Biden among Penn students, with 42.7% of respondents indicating that they neither ap prove nor disapprove of his performance as president. Approval of Biden is strongest among seniors, men, white respondents, and respondents who indicated that the Jan. 6 in surrection impacted their vote.

Democrats were more likely than Republicans to approve of Biden's performance, respondents in both parties overwhelmingly said that they would not like

see Biden run for re-election as president. Nearly 70% of Democrats oppose his re-elec tion, compared to 81% of Republicans. Across the four class years, opposition to a second Biden term was strongest among members of the Class of 2024, who are against his reelection 86% to 14%.

To College and Wharton sophomore Joshua Frazier, a political director for Penn College Republicans, the level of approval of Biden and support for his re-election com pared to support for Democratic candidates demonstrates that both Biden and Trump are less seen as the stewards of their parties.

"It's quite indicative of one phenomenon, that both parties right now don't really have a current leader that they identify with, or [who] truly espouses their platform," Frazier said.

The DP's survey was distributed through the DP's social media accounts, five class GroupMe chats, and advertisements in the DP's newsletters, print issues, and webpage. The sample overrepresents first years, who constitute 37% of all respondents but 24% of the student body, and underrepresents seniors, who constitute 16% of all respondents. It also overrepresents female students, who consti tute 61% of the sample, and Asian students, who represent 42% of the sample.

Meet three students working on the NBC News Decision Desk to project midterm election results

JASPER TAYLOR Staff Reporter

The 2022 midterm elections will take place on Nov. 8 and include 435 House races, 35 Senate races, and 36 state gubernatorial races. The most contentious races in Penn sylvania during this year’s midterm elections are the battle for the United States Senate seat and for the position of governor.

officials on election night,” Jenkins-Wong said. “As votes start to come in, I’m tasked to make sure that we’re not behind.”

Jenkins-Wong said the decision desks are isolated from the possible biases of news or ganizations. He added that their only goal is to accurately project outcomes.

“There’s a lot of stuff you can pre-pre pare, but there’s a lot of other things where it’s unforeseen,” Shaikh said about his work on election night. “I’m excited to see what’s happening and understand what goes on.”

Students affiliated with the Penn Program on Opinion Research and Election Studies are preparing to work with the NBC News Decision Desk on the night of the 2022 mid term elections this November.

PORES is an undergraduate program that conducts research on American political out comes through a data-driven approach. The program partners annually with the NBC Decision Desk to project election outcomes. Several PORES faculty and affiliated stu dents work on the NBC News Decision Desk each year, assisting the network in projecting the outcome of races.

Republican State Sen. Doug Mastriano and Democrat Attorney General Josh Sha piro are going toe to toe to fill Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s office, with much of the election hinging on legal and safe access to abortion. Vying for the Senate seat in a neck to neck race are Democrat Lt. Gov. John Fet terman and Republican Mehmet Oz.

College junior Tyler Jenkins-Wong worked on last year’s NBC News Decision Desk and will be working in the Comcast Technology Center on election night this year. Jenkins-Wong will be on a data qual ity checking team this election, ensuring that the information NBC receives from thirdparty aggregators is accurate and up to date.

“This requires web-scraping information from county websites and calling election

“It’s such a cool experience to be doing work that is profoundly impactful and im portant for the country — important for democracy,” Jenkins-Wong added.

College and Engineering junior Sina Shaikh will also be working with the NBC Decision Desk on election night. As a com puter science and political science double major, Shaikh said that an online New Stu dent Orientation preceptorial sparked his interest in PORES. He joined the program his first-year spring and has been involved ever since.

Shaikh’s role with the NBC Decision Desk is creating and testing election night graphics. He has also been preparing re search in addition to learning how to use the graphic creation tools.

College sophomore Arushi Saxena said she first got involved with PORES during the spring semester of her first year. She will also be checking data quality on election night.

“Over the summer, we started preparing the data,” Saxena said. “We’re working a lot on doing outreach to the most politically contentious counties in the country.”

She explained that a large part of the Elec tion Day preparation was putting together databases of contact information for elec tion officials, number of registered voters in counties, and their party affiliation.

“I’ve been working on this for the past 10 months, and I think all of us have been work ing so hard to make sure our databases are accurate,” Saxena said. “Seeing what ends up on the election in combination with all of our preparation is really exciting to me.”

PHOTO FROM TYLER JENKINS-WONG

PORES faculty and affiliated students work each year to help the network in projecting the outcome of races

PHOTO FROM SINA SHAIKH

PHOTO FROM ARUSHI SAXENA

PHOTO BY JESSE ZHANG

Penn affinity group leaders discuss barriers to political engagement for marginalized voters

Political disillusionment and language barriers are among the obstacles that student leaders cited as barriers to civic engagement

SOPHIA LEUNG Staff Reporter

society, and that they will not be so easily changed by simply voting in every election. The lack of visible change that comes with voting can be frustrating, she said, and can ultimately discourage people from showing up to vote every election cycle.

“It will definitely take a long time to see the changes that we want, but it's important to keep moving the needle in that direction,” Akinwunmi said.

population, Korean population, and Indian population. A lot of our other Southeast, South Asian, and West Asian populations are really being left behind.”

to host a social event encouraging voter regis tration and providing logistical information to Penn students.

Ahead of the November midterm elections, Penn student groups representing historically marginalized communities are pursuing ef forts to encourage voter turnout and increase access to resources on Election Day.

Student groups pursuing these efforts in clude UMOJA, the umbrella organization for Black student groups on campus; the Asian Pacific Student Coalition, the um brella organization for Asian student groups on campus; and the Queer Student Alliance, which provides inclusive social spaces for queer-identifying students and allies. Stu dent leaders of these organizations told The Daily Pennsylvanian that a lack of outreach and inaccessibility to resources inhibits the ability of marginalized voters to participate in elections.

College senior and UMOJA Political Chair Toluwalase Akinwunmi said that she believes political disillusionment is the biggest barrier to Black voters' civic engagement.

“A lot of people say, ‘You need to vote in order to fix these things,’ but a lot of Black people have been hearing that for decades,” Akinwunmi said.

She said that, particularly for descendants of enslaved Africans, there is a feeling that systemic injustices are ingrained in American

Similar to Akinwunmi, College senior and QSA Chair Isabella Schlact said that voter apathy also significantly impacts voter turn out — or the lack thereof — among queer voters.

“It can be really frustrating to turn out for election after election and to have progress and not move at the speed that you wanted to see,” Schlact said.

APSC Political Chair and College sopho more Taryn Flaherty said that the Asian American voting community faces a unique hurdle: the language barrier.

Flaherty said that a significant portion of Asian Americans, particularly in Philadel phia, are not born in the United States, and thus do not speak English as their first lan guage — if at all. She said that this poses a serious barrier to voting and obtaining election information, which is chiefly dis seminated in English.

Pennsylvania offered Chinese as a lan guage on the ballot for the first time during its last election cycle, Flaherty said, which was a “huge win” for the Asian American com munity.

“However, once again, this is only Chi nese,” she said. “And even though Chinese speakers are a huge population, we are — specifically in Philadelphia — leaving behind a very vibrant and ever-growing Vietnamese

This lack of sufficient outreach to Asian American communities is reminiscent of a historical trend of Asian Americans being seen as an inactive voting group, Flaherty said, which results in a lack of outreach toward Asian American voters, making it more difficult for citizens to obtain informa tion about voter registration, polling places, and relevant issues at stake during each elec tion cycle.

Flaherty cited The Philadelphia Inquirer’s recent publication of an article in Chinese, as well as in English, as a huge win for the Asian American community in Philadelphia.

“When coming to decide who they're voting for in the next couple of years, [Asian Americans] are a crucial group to think about and to really get involved, because politics has so much to do with their everyday lives, their businesses, and their homes,” Flaherty said.

In a national context, Schlact said that this November's elections are “more important than ever” for LGBTQ rights.

“We are seeing, on a large scale, a planned attack on trans rights and on queer rights — both in schools and in other spaces,” Schlact said. “It's scary to think that these laws that some people might take for granted are used as a political pawn and that people's rights can be reversed.”

One of the most common obstacles that Schlact has noticed that any college-aged voter faces is not knowing where to go to vote. QSA recently collaborated with the LGBT Center and Penn Leads the Vote, a nonparti san student-run political program on campus,

Schlact, who is a resident of Florida, said she is used to casting her absentee ballot rather than heading in person to the polls. At QSA’s event, she said that people were sur prised to learn that several different polling locations exist for Penn students depending on which college house they live in.

Clarity surrounding “minor details” like this could be the “make-or-break in making sure that college students turn out to vote,” she said.

Flaherty said she has seen an increased effort to reach Asian American voters in recent years, particularly for the college-aged demographic through phone and text bank ing. She said that APSC is also planning to collaborate with the Vietnamese Student Association, Oracle Senior Honor Society, and VietLead — a local grassroots organi zation committed to “organizing in order to build unity towards social justice” — to hold a phone banking event prior to Election Day.

While UMOJA itself has not held any voter engagement events this semester, Akin wunmi said that the University’s historically Black sororities have spearheaded efforts to encourage turnout in recent weeks.

Penn’s Gamma chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, the first Black Greek organization founded on Penn's campus, hosted a midterm elections cookout on Oct. 1 to provide stu dents with information about the upcoming election and an opportunity to register to vote.

“Even though it may seem like nothing is being accomplished, there is stuff that is changing,” Akinwunmi said. “I think we def initely owe it to the populations that are here to help vote the right people in office.”

ARCH, Penn’s cultural resouces center, will serve as a voting site on Nov.

PHOTO BY JESSE ZHANG

Penn students form campus group to support Josh Shapiro in upcoming gubernatorial election

Students for Shapiro is now an affiliate group of Penn Democrats and has amassed over 60 members since the start of the semester

SOPHIA LEUNG & KATE RATNER Staff Reporters

Students for Shapiro is now an affiliate group of Penn Democrats and has amassed over 60 members since the start of the semes ter, including interns on Shapiro’s campaign team.

“It’s been a lot of work, but we’ve accom plished a lot, and I’m really excited to see what else comes with this term,” Hait said.

Hait credits Shapiro for his involvement in several lawsuits against President Trump after the Jan. 6 attack on the United States Capitol.

someone who is willing to fight for our rights, especially in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, where it is so important that our vote counts and matters,” Hait said.

matter who the candidates are. The issues on the ballot are incredibly important, and are going to decide the fate of Pa. for years to come.”

Penn students recently started their own chapter of Students for Shapiro in anticipa tion of November's midterm elections.

The group is part of a national organiza tion that supports Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro and his running mate, State Rep. Austin Davis, in their campaign for Pennsylvania governor and lieutenant governor. College senior Annie Hait and College sophomore Sam Singer, the chapter's directors, worked with Josh Shapiro’s daugh ter Sophia Shapiro — who started the first branch at the University of Pittsburgh — to bring the organization to Penn.

“We saw a litany of lawsuits against Trump come out of Pennsylvania, many of which were led by Attorney General Sha piro,” Hait said. “I think that’s how I first learned about [Shapiro’s] name and who he was.”

She added that she appreciates Shapiro’s campaign for its balance between targeting “hot topic” social issues, such as a woman’s right to choose, gun control, and LGBTQ rights, and policies that are discussed less in current state politics, such as education and public safety.

“Attorney General Shapiro is

College junior Kylie Blitzer currently serves as the group's communications di rector. As an intern on Shapiro’s campaign, Blitzer said she works chiefly on finance and fundraising efforts in the office. She noted that she supports Shapiro's campaign because she believes Shapiro’s goals — in cluding ensuring abortion rights and voting rights — align with issues that are important to her.

Blitzer said that the group’s main objective is spreading Shapiro’s platform and message across Penn’s campus. Students for Shapiro hosted their first event with Davis on Sept. 9.

Blitzer added that the group also hopes to spread awareness about the importance of the upcoming election.

“A big issue that we realize is happening right now is people may not be completely aware of how important this election is,” Blitzer said. “Pennsylvania is a swing state, so its race is always going to be close, no

While College senior Ruthanne Thongkai is not affiliated with the student group, she works as a communications intern for Sha piro’s campaign. She said she is especially concerned about the fate of abortion rights following this election.

Thongkai said she believes that the Re publican-dominated Pa. legislature will continue to send bills outlawing abortion to the governor’s office, and she hopes to see Shapiro in office to strike these bills down.

“There will be so much on the next gover nor’s desk that he will get to decide, whether it’s Josh or [State Sen. Doug Mastriano],” Thongkai said. “These are the people that we have to live under in the foreseeable future, so we should be able to get our voice out there, get our voice heard, and vote for the people whose leadership we want to see.”

Shapiro will face Republican candidate Doug Mastriano in the race for governor on Nov. 8.

Josh Shapiro at a press conference in Philadelphia on Aug. 31, 2022.

A ballot guide to Pennsylvania's 2022 midterm elections

Pennsylvania's primary election, which will take place on Nov. 8, is just under two weeks away. In preparation for the upcoming election, The Daily Pennsylvanian has as sembled a comprehensive ballot guide detailing how to vote in person or by mail, and a brief run-down on all the candidates for students registered to vote on campus.

Getting registered to vote

In Pennsylvania, the final day to register to vote in this election was Oct. 24. Voters that are unsure about their voting status can check to verify that they are registered to vote here.

The last day to request a mail-in or absentee ballot for this election is Nov. 1, which voters can apply for on the state of Pennsylvania's website.

Polling locations

Voters can cast their ballots for the primary on Penn's campus on Nov. 8 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Students who live in Kings Court English, Lauder, Hill, Sansom East and West, and Domus can vote in ARCH Room 108. Students who live in Harnwell, Stouffer, the Quad, Gregory, Harrison, Rodin, Du Bois, Gutmann College House, the Axis, the

Chestnut, the Radian, Chestnut Hall, Hamilton Court, the Hub, and at 3737 Chestnut can vote in Bodek Lounge in Houston Hall.

Students living in The Simon at Founder’s Row can vote at Robeson High School.

How to vote by mail

Voters who have a social security number or a Pennsylvania driver’s license can re quest their ballot online. Voters are also able to request a ballot by mail by sending a form to City Hall. Students who do not have access to a printer, stamps, or an envelope can complete this online form to have a mail-in ballot request form sent to them with an envelope and prepaid postage.

Once voters have received their mail-in ballot, they must mail it to City Hall or place it at a drop box location. Drop box locations will close at 8 p.m. on Election Day. If mail-in ballots are mailed to City Hall, it is important that they are mailed with enough time to ensure they are delivered before Election Day, as ballots that are not received by Election Day will not be counted, according to Pennsylvania’s DOS Voting and Election Information site.

Gubernatorial candidates

Josh Shapiro (D)

Shapiro has served as the attorney general of Pennsylvania since 2017. As attorney general, he exposed abuse in the Catholic Church, defended reproductive rights in Penn sylvania, and fought against claims of voter fraud in the state after the 2020 presidential election.

Shapiro's top priorities include creating jobs, cutting taxes, improving the education system, and defending access to reproductive care. In September, Penn students started their own chapter of Students for Shapiro. The group held its first event on Sept. 9 with the Democratic candidate for Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor, Austin Davis.

Lieutenant governor

Austin Davis (D)

Davis is the current representative of Pennsylvania’s 35th District in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Josh Shapiro, the Democratic candidate for Governor, has endorsed Davis as his candidate for lieutenant governor, as has the Pennsylvania Demo cratic Party. His priorities include ensuring access to education, creating sustainable jobs, and making sure that the working class is protected. If elected, Davis would make history as the first Black lieutenant governor in Penn sylvania.

Doug Mastriano (R)

Mastriano was elected to the State Senate in 2019. Prior to serving in the State Sen ate, he served in the U.S. Army and was a faculty instructor at the U.S. Army War Col lege. He plans to ban all COVID-19 vaccine mandates, increase election security, ban critical race theory in Pennsylvania schools, and protect Second Amendment rights.

Mastriano has been criticized for helping organize transportation for Trump support ers to the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 and for calling for an audit of 2020 election results in Pennsylvania. He was endorsed by Trump in May 2022.

In August, Mastriano came under widespread criticism after photos surfaced of Mas triano in 2013 dressed in a Confederate uniform in a faculty portrait for the War Col lege’s Department of Military Strategy, Plans and Operations.

Carrie Lewis DelRosso (R)

DelRosso is the current representative for District 33 in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. If elected, DelRosso wrote in a statement emailed to the DP in April 2022 that her biggest goals are to "get Pennsylvania back on track, stop losing jobs, stop losing population, stop losing faith in ourselves, secure elections, grow education, and fix healthcare."

“Pennsylvania deserves a woman who has experience in both the public and private sector who will bring dignity back to the Office of the Lieutenant Governor," DelRosso told the DP.

U.S. Senate candidates

John Fetterman (D)

Fetterman has held the position of lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania since 2019. He held the position of Mayor of Braddock from 2006 until 2019. As mayor, Fetterman was known for creating youth- and community-based programs.

Fetterman wrote in a statement emailed to the DP in April 2022 that his platform centers around the legalization of marijuana.

"The war on drugs has been racist, costly, and ineffective," Fetterman wrote. "It is not just a failure — it's a national disgrace. We have known for decades that Black and brown communities are disproportionately prosecuted and harmed because of the crimi nalization around marijuana."

His other platform points include reforming the criminal justice system to include more rehabilitative options and expanding access to health care across the state.

Mehmet Oz (R)

Oz is a former talk show host and an attending physician at N.Y. Presbyterian-Colum bia Medical Center. Oz's main platform points include strengthening domestic energy production, securing the country's borders, and pushing back against "cancel culture" to ensure Americans' right to free speech is protected. He received the endorsement of former President Donald Trump in April 2022.

Additionally, Oz has voiced concerns about Fetterman’s policies for drug decrimi nalization and police disarmament in Pennsylvania. Oz acknowledges the presence of violent crime and drug abuse in the commonwealth, vowing to fund our police systems and offer support to crime-ridden communities.

Ballot initiatives

There are four measures that will be on the ballot in Philadelphia County.

The first question proposes that the City’s Zoning Board of Adjustment should have seven members, instead of the current five members. This measure also proposes that the appointees be confirmed by City Council, and that the committee must include “an urban planner; an architect; a lawyer with zoning experience; a person with experience in the construction industry; and at least two recognized leaders from community organizations.”

The second question proposes that the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter, which serves as

Philadelphia’s constitution and sets up the rules for the city’s government, should remove all gender-based references.

The third measure on the ballot proposes that the Educational Supplement to the Phila delphia Home Rule Charter should also remove gender-based references.

The fourth measure posits that the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter should establish the Fair Housing Commission as an independent commission that is officially part of the City Charter.

PHOTO BY JESSE ZHANG

Houston Hall on Aug. 16, 2022.

PHOTO BY JESSE ZHANG

Paul Robeson High School on Oct. 26, 2022.

PHOTO BY DEREK WONG

The ARCH on March 16, 2022.

Penn community members talk gubernatorial election's impact on abortion access

Students’ access to reproductive health care could be determined by who is elected as Pennsylvania's next governor

JONAH MILLER Senior Reporter

In the months leading up to November's midterm elections, voters across Penn sylvania have voiced concerns regarding how the outcome of the the state's guber natorial election will impact their access to reproductive health care.

After the U.S. Supreme Court

overturned Roe v. Wade in June, abor tion has been a hot-button issue for many candidates during this election cycle. As Gov. Tom Wolf (D-Pa.) reaches his twoterm limit as governor, the candidate who will be elected in the gubernato rial election on Nov. 8 – and thus wield

the governor’s veto pen – will dictate if access to abortion is protected or prohib ited in Pennsylvania.

While Democrat Attorney General Josh Shapiro pledges to continue protect ing Pennsylvanians’ access to abortion, Republican State Sen. Doug Mastriano

has repeatedly voiced that he is an ardent supporter of anti-abortion legisla tion and has vowed to sign the proposed “Heartbeat Bill” into Pennsylvania law, if elected. Ahead of Election Day, The Daily Pennsylvanian spoke to Penn Well ness administrators and students about

PHOTO BY ANA GLASSMAN

their concerns with what's at stake regard ing abortion access in this election.

College sophomore Annabelle Jin, cofounder of the Penn Reproductive Justice Working Group student organization, said that the winner of the gubernatorial race will have a huge say in future legislation regarding abortion access for Pennsylva nians.

“Especially with the governor’s race, Doug Mastriano has said that he will ban abortion in all cases, including extreme ones like incest, rape, and in the case of [protecting] the mother’s life, whereas Josh Shapiro has promised he will veto any anti-choice legislation that the state legislature may pass,” Jin said.

Jin helped organize a pro-abortion rights rally on Oct. 22 at City Hall that featured Shapiro as the key speaker.

She said that it is important to recog nize that ensuring reproductive rights does not only impact women. Beyond working to support abortion access, Penn Repro ductive Justice Working Group's mission also includes sexual education, menstrual health advocacy, and voter registration ef forts ahead of the midterm elections.

“You can argue about the philosophy of the life of the fetus, but I think that you have to respect a person’s freedom to make a decision for themselves about what they want to do with their bodies," Jin said. "If you start infringing on that freedom, there’s no real limit.”

College sophomore Chloe Hunt, a DP sports reporter, said that although she is a

registered Republican, she will be voting for Shapiro in the gubernatorial race.

"I am pro-life, but I also think that re stricting abortion entirely and making contraception and abortion difficult to access is harmful for everybody, regard less of which political party one identifies with," Hunt said.

On June 24, the Supreme Court re versed the nationwide constitutional right to an abortion upheld by the 1973 case Roe v. Wade. The Court’s 6–3 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Orga nization granted the power for abortion care to be decided by the states, not the federal government.

Wellness at Penn and the Center for Public Health Initiatives issued a joint statement following the Court judgment in June, which stated that the centers ac knowledge the policy implications and fear and anxiety generated as a result.

Should Mastriano win the gubernato rial race and anti-abortion laws is passed by the state legislature, Penn would become the only Ivy League institution whose students do not have safe and legal access to an abortion because of their state’s politics.

The administrators wrote that re stricting access to safe abortions will inevitably lead to heightened maternal mortality rates, childhood poverty, and poor mental health outcomes, in addition to magnifying racial inequities.

“Providing inclusive public health services for all in our community means

providing access to safe and legal repro ductive care, including abortions,” Chief Wellness Officer Benoit Dubé and CPHI Executive Director Richard Wender wrote. “In light of this decision, the Penn public health community will continue to educate and promote access to compre hensive and safe reproductive care.”

In a press release after the Supreme Court’s ruling on abortion, Wolf wrote that the decision “did not happen over night," adding that this election cycle would be "critical" for Pennsylvania.

Executive Director of Student Health and Counseling William Adelman told the DP that “health care access is on the ballot. There’s no question about it.”

“You have a voice — make it count,” Dubé told The Daily Pennsylvanian. “It’s not just about you. It’s about the people you love and how laws impact them. That’s what this is about.”

Courtney Schreiber, director of Penn Medicine’s Pregnancy Early Access Center, wrote in a tweet that individuals should “make no mistake” when it comes to interpreting the impact of anti-abortion legislation.

“These laws have a chilling effect on the ability to practice safe obstetrics,” Schreiber wrote.

Current Pennsylvania law states that abortion is legal through 23 weeks of preg nancy and remains legal if the mother’s life or health is in danger, according to the Pennsylvania Attorney General's website.

On July 7, Republican state legislators

in Harrisburg advanced a proposal for a potential amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution to say that it “does not guar antee any rights relating to an abortion or public finding of abortions.”

The July proposal was not the first time Republican state legislators tried to restrict abortion access. Wolf has used his veto power to block statewide abor tion restrictions three times before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, The Washington Post reported.

On Election Day, Hunt said that she will be splitting her ticket, voting Repub lican for the United States senate seat but Democrat for governor.

"Mastriano has kind of made abortion his one issue — his main issue — when I think there's a lot of more pertinent issues facing the Commonwealth of Pennsylva nia," Hunt said.

Instead of emphasizing policy ideas impacting college students, she said, the Republican candidate is honing in on re stricting abortion access.

Hunt said that she believes Shapiro is a "better example" for what Pennsylvania needs. She said Shapiro is someone who will "respect the life of the fetus" while also ensuring that women have access to reproductive health care.

"I hope that Republicans at Penn will consider [that] Mastriano's hard stance is something that is not a good look for the party and does not fit the image a lot of Pennsylvanian's have regarding this issue," Hunt said.

PHOTO BY ANA GLASSMAN

Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon talks with the DP about her journey from Penn Carey Law to politics

Scanlon spoke to The Daily Pennsylvanian about the importance of the upcoming midterms, saying, “It’s all on the line in this election.”

RACHEL MILLER Staff Reporter

As voters across the state head to the polls this November, some will have the option to re-elect former Quaker Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.) into office.

Scanlon, a 1984 University of Pennsyl vania Carey Law School graduate, is up for re-election for her seat in the United States House of Representatives. Ahead of election day, she spoke to The Daily Penn sylvanian about her journey into politics and the importance of the upcoming mid terms.

Scanlon began her career as a lawyer before transitioning to the world of politics. She was elected to the House of Represen tatives in a special election in 2018, and she has served in the House ever since. She represents Pennsylvania’s 5th Congressio nal District.

After growing up in upstate New York, Scanlon graduated from Colgate Univer sity in 1980. While a student at Penn Carey Law, Scanlon worked for the Legal Aid Clinic, which she credited for directing her toward public interest work. After graduat ing from Penn Carey Law, she worked at

the Education Law Center.

While in this position, Scanlon told the DP that she was “always trying to help parents become more engaged with their school district,” which encouraged her to run for her local school board and become president.

After leaving the domain of school dis trict politics, Scanlon worked full time as pro bono counsel for a Philadelphia-based national law firm, working on issues such as poverty, voting rights, immigration, free speech, and free press. She said she also began to do some work with Represent PA, a group that focuses on electing more women to office in Pennsylvania.

In January 2018, the Pennsylvania Su preme Court decided that Pennsylvania’s districts were unconstitutionally drawn and needed to be redrawn. In addition, the representative in Scanlon’s district, Patrick Meehan, resigned due to sexual harass ment allegations. This encouraged Scanlon to run for office, as there was an empty seat at a time that she called the “Year of the Woman.”

“I had not been looking to run for Con gress,” Scanlon said. “But in my day job, I’d been working on immigration, voting rights, representation of women — the kinds of issues that were really front and center after the election of former President Donald Trump. For all of these issues, we were looking for the federal government to be an ally, but all of a sudden, the federal government was an adversary and the laws were starting to change.”

She said that her expertise on these issues combined with her work and con nections throughout the region are what gave Scanlon the courage to run for office. Scanlon added that she is continuing her work in politics because she believes in the importance of preserving our democratic institutions, and there is more work to be done, especially regarding election integ rity.

Scanlon said she is especially proud of the way she and her colleagues acted in the wake of the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol in 2021.

A week after the insurrection at the

Capitol, Scanlon released a statement, saying that Trump “is a clear and present danger to our country and he must be re moved from office.”

“I’m proud that we came back on the night of Jan. 6 and voted to certify the elec tion, and then that we voted to impeach the former president a second time for what he did to our country and for the lies he told us and our countrymen and women that caused them to attack the Capitol and the government and everyone who was in the building,” Scanlon said. “It’s all on the line in this election.”

Scanlon is not the only University of Pennsylvania graduate on the ballot in Pennsylvania’s midterms. Rep. Matt Cart wright (D-Pa.) graduated from Penn Carey Law in 1986 and is running for re-election as representative of Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District. Also, School of Nursing Ph.D. student Tarik Khan is run ning to represent Pennsylvania’s 194th District in the state legislature, after defeat ing the incumbent State Rep. Pam DeLissio in the Democratic primary last May.

PHOTO FROM MARY GAY SCANLON

Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.) is a Penn Carey Law graduate.

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Mehmet Oz’s former Penn classmates discuss the Senate candidate's career trajectory, campaign platform

— making Oz one of the first students to earn a joint M.D.-MBA from Penn.

JARED MITOVICH Senior Reporter

On a Thursday afternoon this past Sep tember, Mehmet Oz was campaigning in the suburbs of Philadelphia in Springfield, Pa. During a town hall on Sept. 8, while criticizing his opponent Lt. Gov. John Fet terman on his approach to crime policy, Oz recalled his time as a medical student at Penn.

"I lived in West Philly. I could walk to school. It wasn’t a problem. I can’t make that walk today. You can’t either,” Oz said in reference to the rising crime rate in Phil adelphia.

In a campaign for the U.S. Senate where Oz has faced relentless attacks about whether he is a true Pennsylvanian, Oz has sparsely mentioned his four years at Penn as a medical student and MBA candidate. Oz — who is endorsed by former President Donald Trump — has pushed a platform that includes strengthening domestic energy production, giving local officials

control over abortion laws, and pushing back against "cancel culture."

The Daily Pennsylvanian spoke with six former classmates who knew Oz about his transformation from a Quaker to a cardio thoracic surgeon, television personality, and now Republican candidate for Senate in one of the most closely watched races in the country this fall.

The classmates voiced criticism of ques tionable medical claims made by Oz on national television and his current cam paign for Senate. Despite his notoriety, all of them described him as a student at Penn who was generally well-liked, hardwork ing, and intelligent.

Oz enrolled at Penn in 1982 after earn ing a bachelor's degree in biology from Harvard University. In 1986, he earned his MBA in health care management from the Wharton School and his medical degree from the Perelman School of Medicine

Oz has garnered national attention through his time on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," his tenure as a Columbia University faculty member, and later on his own talk show "The Dr. Oz Show."

During this time, he continued to foster his connection to Penn. Five years ago, Oz spoke to over 200 Penn students in Hous ton Hall about how to achieve wellness. In 2012, he returned to campus to speak at the Wharton MBA graduation ceremony, and in 2011, the Wharton Club of New York awarded Oz the Joseph Wharton Award for social impact.

1986 Medical School graduate Steve Fisher, Oz's classmate during medical school, said he has seen "quite a dramatic change" in Oz's personality from their time at Penn together to the celebrity doctor today. Fisher recalled that Oz had invited him to a graduation party at his father's house in Wilmington, Del., where Oz grew up. Now, however, Fisher said he has "lost all respect for him."

"I know some of the things he said, [and] I think it’s extremely dangerous," Fisher said. "It’s contrary to everything we were taught as medical students; it’s contrary to

the Hippocratic oath, to take care of pa tients."

Fisher said he took issue with Oz's support for hydroxychloroquine as a COVID-19 treatment and what he described as "dog whistles" by the Republi can Party. He said the Oz of today stood in stark contrast to his "outgoing, gregarious, pleasant" personality in medical school.

During his campaign for Senate, Oz has leveraged his career as a physician, prompting criticism from fellow doc tors for his history of dispensing dubious medical advice unsupported by research.

On Oct. 17, a group of 150 Philadelphiaarea and Pennsylvania doctors said that his promotion of questionable medical recom mendations make him a "major threat to public health," citing stories from patients who said they have been harmed by Oz's advice.

A recent review by Jezebel found that Oz conducted research which involved killing more than 300 dogs and inflicting serious, unethical harm on thousands of animals.

During his time at the Medical School, Oz demonstrated an interest in innova tive or less-studied treatments that would become a focus of his popular television show. 1986 Medical School graduate

The Daily Pennsylvanian spoke with six of Oz’ former classmates about their memories of the Senate candidate

PHOTO BY HEATHER KHALIFA | THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

Emanuel Garcia said that he and Oz joined a group of students that became known as "The Granolas" due to their interest in a healthy lifestyle, nutrition, and things that "weren't part of the general medical cur riculum."

In a recently resurfaced clip from his appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" in October 2009 that drew attention online, Oz claimed that he was forced to taste his own urine in medical school.

"You do it in med school, that's what you do," Oz told Kimmel, referring to the experi ence.

Experts and medical school graduates have since refuted the claim, including 1986 Medical School graduate Jeremy Law, who told the DP that Penn's medical school never forced them to taste their urine.

Law added that he believes Oz talks about "controversial" subjects on his show because he needed to marry his life as an entertainer with his academic and scientific reputation, which was formed by looking at alternative

approaches to cardiac care. Oz has made millions of dollars from promoting ques tionable products and has stopped operating on patients as of 2018.

Multiple classmates said that the notori ety that Oz gained from his television show, as well as the characteristics he exhibited as a surgeon, likely made him believe that he was qualified to work in government. To 1986 Medical School graduate James Handa, Oz does not present as the same person that he was at Penn.

"He was a good guy. I think his heart was in the right place. He was a humble guy," Handa said. "He’s just a different guy today — at least through what we see on TV and read about in the newspapers.”

Despite his present notoriety, several of Oz's classmates echoed Fisher's sentiments about Oz's medical school days, describing Oz as someone who was well-liked at school. Multiple classmates, such as 1986 Medi cal School graduate Scott Boden, noted that Oz was the president of the Medical School

student council during his senior year.

"I would say it's consistent with his inter ests to make a difference, and to represent constituents and try and build consensus — but also to get stuff done," Boden said, adding that those qualities are required in a surgeon.

Boden recalled playing intramural basket ball with Oz and participated in "Penn Med Spoof" together, a musical show tradition that includes a pit band and actors on stage. Oz also joined the Medical School soccer team with Handa.

Handa said his relationship with Oz "solidified early on" from being paired to gether for physical diagnosis practice.

"I think there definitely were people who really loved him. He's a really char ismatic guy," Handa said of Oz. "If you're at a party, he would walk in, and five or 10 minutes later, everybody sort of gravi tated around him listening to what he had to say."

While at Penn, Oz lived with his class mates off-campus at a house in West

Philadelphia, where he threw a few par ties, according to Garcia.

Handa described Oz's ability to laugh at himself as a "redeeming quality" that complemented his "strong personality" and outspokenness, which may have made him disliked by some classmates. Handa said that Oz's ability to self-deprecate was when he would say "something kind of outlandish" but admit he was wrong after those around him would point out that what he said did not make sense.

"As his missteps politically have emerged, it was just on a grander scale of the kind of misstatements he would make as a student," Handa said. "The differ ence is that he would laugh at himself back then."

The midterm elections will be held on Nov. 8. In recent polling, Oz has trailed Fetterman — his opponent — by a decreas ing margin. The race could decide control of the U.S. Senate, which currently has 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans.

PHOTO FROM WHARTON

Home is where the vote is

If you’ve walked through campus anytime in the last month, you have been questioned by eager volunteers with clipboards asking if you’re registered to vote. These students are aimed at registering members of the Penn community to vote in Pennsylvania. In a recent Daily Pennsylvanian article about voter registration, Penn Dems boasted the 625 people they have registered ahead of the upcoming election.

My guess is this isn’t the first time you’ve been asked to register in Pennsylvania. As a first year starting college in the fall of 2020 ahead of one of the most controversial elections of our lifetime, it was a regular oc currence for me to be advised to cast my vote in Philadelphia where it would supposedly carry more weight. Growing up in Connecti cut, I’d often hear people say that their vote was “meaningless” due to the perceived sol idly blue nature of politics in the state.

Voting should not be about partisan strategy, but instead about representing the interests of your community when you go to the ballot box. As a registered Republican in my home state of Connecticut, where a Re publican hasn’t carried our electoral votes since Bush in 1988, I go to the polls each election day excited to cast my vote in my home state — but not to change the color of my state. I am proud to vote for candidates who are looking after my neighbors, fixing the potholes on my grandmother’s street, and

vowing to fund the public schools attended by my entire family.

The attention to swing states is a symp tom of the larger American obsession with national politics. Even in a midterms year, there is so much more on the ballot than just hotly contested gubernatorial and senatorial races. In Philadelphia, for example, State Senate, State House, and local City Council seats are all also up for grabs, which will all be influencing changes on a level much more personal to local residents.

As a Penn student and only circumstan tially a resident of Philadelphia, I am simply not affected by state and local political problems in the same way that the average West Philadelphia resident is. Sheltered by the Penn bubble and the luxury of the Penn Police, I do not feel the impacts of District Attorney Larry Krasner’s failure to prosecute or Mayor Jim Kenney’s abandoning of the city to the same degree. Why should I impose my ideological views on a Philadelphia City Council race when it is not my children who would be losing out on the opportunity to attend a quality school if the city elects some one who opposes charter schools?

I am anticipating my Penn peers will explain that their registration in Philadel phia is limited to their interests in national and statewide races, not a desire to vote in local elections. If this is the case, you must ask yourself why your focus is so

hyper-nationalized. Only 15-27% of voters turn out in off-cycle local elections, a number that increases to 40% during midterms. While state politicians are now under the spotlight following the Dobbs v. Jackson ruling, even before the return of abortion regulatory power to the states, local and state policies have always affected your day-today life more regularly than national politics. Despite what CNN or Fox News may tell you, issues like taxes, infrastructure, educa tion, and public safety should be the topic of all of your political conversations.

By focusing on voting strategically rather than voting in the place you feel the strongest ties, you miss out on an opportunity to use your lived experiences to inform your vote and make decisions with the long-term inter est of your community at heart. The founding fathers saw each of the states for their unique demographics, cultures, and communities — a crucial motivator in Alexander Hamil ton’s defense of equal representation in the Senate in Federalist 62. This is still true in many ways today, but party lines have now overridden the actual act of representation in Congress with senators like Sen. Joe Man chin (D-W. Va.), acting with his constituency in mind ahead of his partisan affiliations, be coming increasingly less common.

As someone who’s worked on local and state campaigns, and who exhibits an exuber ant amount of federalist pride, I understand

that voting in the state that is closest to my heart is an easy choice. I am proud to call Connecticut home and hope to continue to do so for as long as I can. For some people, Philadelphia may be the closest place you have to an American residency, and if that is the case, I encourage you to vote here. How ever, for the vast majority of Penn students, life in Philadelphia is one of temporary visi tation and a vote cast here is not for pride of place but for strategic placement of partisan interest.

For parents in Philadelphia who fear that their children will not make it home safe in a city where Wawas cannot even remain open due to increases in crime, ideological im pulses, and strategy of newcomers to the city is a privilege they cannot afford. Therefore, this November, before going to the polls in Philadelphia, I challenge you to think about what it means to vote as a member of a com munity, and whether you are voting with the interests of the community or a political party at heart.

LEXI BOCCUZZI is a College junior studying philosophy, politics, and economics from Stamford, Conn. Her email is boccuzzi@thedp.com.

PHOTO BY GARY LIN

LEXI’S TAKE | Why you should cast your ballot close to home and close to the heart this Election Day

Penn students can, and should, swing the state

Every vote counts. This is a phrase you see everywhere during election season in America. In this participatory democ racy, the phrase proves to be true. Every vote really does count. However, not every vote counts the same.

The location in whi-ch your vote is cast determines the weight of that vote. As a Cali fornian, I am proud to vote in both local and national elections. Nevertheless, I know that no matter whose name I select on the ballot, California will remain a blue state.

Obviously, in local elections, singular votes have more significance. Despite a state being overall red or blue, various coun ties can be strongly in favor of the opposing party. Even then, however, if you’re in a socalled politically “safe state,” odds are that regardless of your vote or the strength of an outlying county, the state will stay positively red or blue. For example, it’s no surprise that even with so much backlash and apparent animosity toward him, as evidenced by the recent recall efforts, Gavin Newsom, a Dem ocrat, retains strong support as California’s governor.

I am not making this point to discourage anyone from voting. Indeed, it is through the election process that we can exercise our rights to participate in democracy. Voting provides the vehicle for us to create the America we want to live in, no matter which state we reside in.

Nevertheless, I want to emphasize the advantages of using your vote strategically. Voting, whether in local or general elections,

in a swing state naturally carries more weight. In my case, my Democratic vote means more in Pennsylvania than in California.

While California has been a blue state for most of its history, Pennsylvania has long been considered a battleground state. The Keystone State, more so than other states, is home to many varying ethnicities, political influences, and polarizing forces. Its great di versity is what makes it a “microcosm of the country,” with entrenched voters on either side of the spectrum within its borders.

Home to a very diverse population, the City of Philadelphia is the Democratic stronghold of the state. Its demographics in clude over 500,000 immigrants, a Black or African American population of 41.36%, and a median age of 35.2. These Philadelphian demographics include roughly 342,994 col lege students.

As members of this demographic, we, Penn students, must make our impact in Pennsylvania elections. We have a social responsibility to vote in local elections as part of Philadelphia’s civic foundation. After all, we are members of this community and the local laws apply to us just as they do any other Philadelphian.

Campus organization Penn Leads the Vote emphasizes that colleges and universities have both an opportunity and a responsibility to support students’ democratic development and civic participation, which can be done easily through voting. It’s vital that as univer sity students in Philadelphia, we do our part to lead the vote.

Some may argue that as university stu dents, we aren’t established members of the Pennsylvania community and don’t face the local issues impacting long-term residents. However, we live in our college town for 10 months of the year, and live here for at least four years of our adult lives. The average American family moves once every four years, making us just as worthy and eligible to vote in this precinct.

More than just being de facto members of the community through the pursuit of our studies here, we make an impact by being gainfully employed, bolstering the local economy, and creating job opportunities for others in the area. Among other things, we dine at local restaurants in University and Center cities, volunteer within the local com munities in West Philadelphia, support the food trucks on Spruce Street, and create the need for businesses like Penn Campus Hair, Skin & Nail Salon.

Penn students, along with those at Drexel, Temple, etc., pay sales and gasoline taxes while earning wages in accordance with Pennsylvania regulations. Though most of us likely haven't been living in Philadelphia for more than our college years, we are directly affected by the Pennsylvania laws, which in turn gives us the right to challenge them.

For example, with Roe v. Wade being overturned and the decision on abortion rights being left up to the states, it's our civic duty to cast our pro-choice vote in Penn sylvania. Patients of college age are one of the largest demographics in United States

abortion patients, making the overturning of Roe v. Wade a threat to every person ca pable of being pregnant in Pennsylvania. If the state chooses to make abortion illegal, Penn students and other college students in Philadelphia will be terribly impacted. Being a swing state, Pennsylvania has a high risk of banning abortion in comparison to Califor nia or New York.

Now more than ever, it is imperative that we exercise our civil rights and participate in elections in Pennsylvania. For those of you from California, New York, and other safe states, it's your responsibility to regis ter to vote in Pennsylvania instead of your hometown to make more of an impact on the community you now live in.

Taxes, minimum wage, abortion rights, and more all impact us as students in Uni versity City. No matter what anyone might try to convince us, we are members of the Philadelphia and greater Pennsylvanian communities, and are key components and contributors to the civic fabric here.

So, those of you coming from safe states, feel your power! We can, and should, swing the state.

SOSE HOVANNISIAN is a College first year studying history from Los Angeles. Her email is sosehova@sas. upenn.edu.

PHOTO BY NICHOLAS FERNANDEZ

SOSE’S STANCE | Penn students who come from safe states should use their vote strategically in Pennsylvania

PHOTO BY ANA GLASSMAN

Josh Shapiro: The only choice for Pennsylvania’s next governor

On Nov. 8, the Penn and Philadelphia communities will head to the polls and vote for Democrat Attorney General Josh Sha piro or Republican State Sen. Doug Mastriano to become their next governor. But in this race, there is one clear candidate who best fits the interests of our community — Josh Shapiro.

Since 2011, Republican lawmakers have dominated the Pennsylvania state legislature with a voting majority to pass harmful legisla tion attacking reproductive rights, democracy, and marginalized communities.

To that end, whoever is elected governor has immense power to veto or pass every bill the state legislature sends to their desk. And, for the last eight years, our current governor, Demo crat Tom Wolf, has acted as the only safeguard against the Republicans’ harmful agenda. At a time when our most fundamental rights are in question with a partisan Supreme Court, exem plified by their recent decision overturning Roe v. Wade and blocking access to health care for millions, the person who sits behind the gover nor’s desk is more important than ever.

Meet Josh Shapiro

Inspired by his parents’ careers in public service, Josh Shapiro has tirelessly pursued a career as a public servant and has upheld values of equality and justice. Shortly after graduating from the University of Rochester, Shapiro simultaneously worked in govern ment while attending Georgetown University Law Center at night. When he was first elected to the Pennsylvania State House of Represen tatives, Shapiro helped oust corrupt legislators

and supported legislation strengthening Penn sylvania’s hate crimes laws. He continued to further progressive causes in his role as Chairman of the Board of Commissioners in Montgomery County and was later elected to a statewide seat as Pennsylvania's attorney general in 2016.

In these roles working with Democrats and Republicans alike, Shapiro ensured economic stability, advocated for LGBTQ marriage equality, and assisted in the exposure of the Catholic Church’s history of sexual abuse. Additionally, during his tenure as attorney general, Shapiro negotiated an agreement with two of our state’s largest insurance companies to protect healthcare access for 2 million Pennsylvanians. Shapiro’s record continues to show his support for expanding health care coverage and unwavering defense for those most disenfranchised in our state.

As governor, Shapiro is determined to improve mental health resources in public education, support unions, end capital punish ment, raise the minimum wage to $15, invest in clean energy, and expand protections to issues affecting marginalized groups, includ ing an individual’s right to choose.

Meet Doug Mastriano

Doug Mastriano, unlike Shapiro, has a long history of attacking marginalized groups and upholding far-right, extremist views. Earning four master's degrees and a Ph.D. in history, Mastriano is also a veteran, having served in the United States Army. His military career and education, however, are largely

undermined and disgraced by his extremist views and hateful rhetoric toward Pennsylva nia’s most vulnerable.

Mastriano subscribes to a plethora of dangerous and baseless conspiracy theories — including The Big Lie, defying the elec tion of President Joe Biden. He held prayers for people to “seize the power” days before the Jan. 6 insurrection, later attending the in surrection. This stands in stark opposition to Shapiro, who is committed to protecting and expanding voting rights across the state. As attorney general, he oversaw and won cases against baseless voter fraud claims, upholding truth and democracy.

Mastriano was elected to the State Senate only three years ago, yet has an exhaustive background in supporting anti-abortion, antiworking-class, and anti-democratic legislation. As a state senator, Mastriano led the fight against the right to choose, proposing a bill that would charge someone with murder if they re ceived an abortion. All the while, Mastriano has continued to target the working class by voting against a minimum wage increase of $9.50 and advocating for reducing per-student school funding by $10,000 annually.

As governor, Mastriano will restrict access to abortion, increase access to firearms, invest in fossil fuels, lower taxes for corporations, and ban transgender students from using the restroom of their preference. From school boards to members of his own party alike, many concede Doug Mastriano’s agenda does not match that of Pennsylvanians. All this is further confirmation of the damage he will

cause to Pennsylvania if elected as our next governor.

Last month on Locust Walk, students, faculty, and community members expressed why they will be voting this November in our #WhyIVote campaign. From upholding de mocracy to protecting reproductive rights and the planet, our community reflects the values of equity, equality, and justice consistently upheld by Josh Shapiro. We encourage you to vote blue — for Josh Shapiro and for Demo crats down the ballot.

We join the United Steelworkers, the Human Rights Campaign, CeaseFirePA, Black Economic Alliance, and many, many others in endorsing Josh Shapiro as Pennsyl vania’s 49th governor.

If you want Pennsylvania to uphold your right to democratic elections, right to choose, and equal rights regardless of background, then make sure to have your voice heard on Nov. 8. Let’s elect Josh Shapiro and other Democrats to move Pennsylvania forward.

PENN DEMOCRATS is a studentrun political organization dedicated to promoting progressive political values on and off campus. For more information on voting, please visit penndems.org. They can be reached at communications@penndems.org.

PENN DEMOCRATS

Vote for Josh Shapiro and Democrats down the ballot on Nov.

Remember Biden’s failed promises when you vote

If you were to turn on cable television right now, you would learn very little of impor tance about the upcoming midterms. Sure, you would know that Mehmet Oz and Lt. Gov. John Fetterman have garnered national attention for their virulent attack ads aimed at landing them a position in the United States Senate. However, what you would not learn is the significance of the crisis our nation is facing.

Democrat-led rule has failed America.

Rapid market shifts have become normal, job displacement with soaring inflation has left working-class families unable to pay bills, and international political instability in parts of Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia characterize the unprecedented global turmoil that is coloring this election. This administration has presided over the start of a potential economic recession, a disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, and a plethora of loose ends they pledged to tie up during their supposed restoration of sanity to the office.

These political and economic realities are a slap in the face to Americans after two years of COVID-19 lockdowns. Americans are displeased, indicative by the Biden ad ministration’s abysmal approval rating at 41%, and the results of these midterms will define the next two crucial years.

Midterms are an opportunity to provide a referendum on the current administration. The short terms of congressmen and con gresswomen allow the American people to get the chance to hold the sitting president accountable. In the case of the Biden admin istration, this is overwhelmingly necessary.

The Biden administration entered the White House in January 2021 with a litany of promises on a wide array of issues. It claimed there would be expansive housing reform, and yet, Democrat-run cities and states con tinue to dominate the list of those with the highest homeless populations. The five cities experiencing this crisis most significantly — New York City, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Jose, and San Francisco — have almost 175,000 homeless residents combined.

In addition, Joe Biden made many pledges to fix our country’s immigration system, yet we have seen nothing of the sort during his presidency.

Border crossings have hit an all-time high in 2022 topping 2.76 million, with Mayor Eric Adams of New York City even declar ing a state of emergency as a result of the unprecedented increase of asylum seekers. Fentanyl seizures at the southwest border have also gone up 489% in the last three years with no plan in sight from the Biden admin istration after calls by Republican members

of Congress to make fentanyl permanently a Schedule 1 drug.

The President even went so far as to tout public safety on his visit to Philadelphia this August, a pattern following his calls to “fund the police” during his State of the Union ad dress. However, under his party’s leadership, we’ve seen continued upticks in total violent crime in Philadelphia, a reality that is all too real for residents where robberies have dou bled from last year. Fetterman proudly touts his endorsement from the Working Families Party, who stand by their claims to “Defund the Police.” This is unsurprising given the fact that, as Oz notes in ongoing campaign ads, he spent his term as lieutenant governor pushing for clemency, despite the fact that the percentage of violent offenders who repeat offend is over 60%.

A campaign that pledged to unify the American people and bring back leadership for all Americans has developed into an ad ministration that has made it its mission to antagonize half of the country. In his speech in Philadelphia earlier this election season, he called Republicans “semi-fascists,” a term that should not be used lightly. President Biden is surely failing to fulfill his desired wishes of bringing together the country.

A culture such as this one starts at the top. In our own day-to-day lives, we see the

impacts of increasing divisiveness and the ef fects of a more and more virulent political culture. It would be naive and untrue to say that Democrats alone are to blame for this problem, but by getting swept up in parti san rhetoric and failing to acknowledge the plethora of issues at stake in this election, we are complicit in the problem itself.

The reality is, for better or worse, we live in a two-party system. By no means is the Republican Party perfect, and we are not blind to the failures of our own party to de liver on their promises. However, no matter who you voted for in 2020, neglecting the opportunity to call attention to the failures of the Biden administration at the ballot box this November would ignore the chance mid terms provide us.

PENN COLLEGE REPUBLICANS is a student-run political organization dedicated to fostering a conservative community on campus and helping to promote Republican values. They can be reached at penncollegerepub licans@gmail.com.

PHOTO BY KYLIE COOPER

PENN COLLEGE REPUBLICANS | This Election Day, take the opportunity to hold Democratic leadership accountable