Josh Shapiro and group of governors urge Philadelphians to vote early

Josh Shapiro and a group of Democratic governors had a simple message for Philadelphians on Sunday: take advantage of early voting throughout the city. Voters can visit satellite offices throughout the city to apply for and fill out their ballot.

Gov. Josh Shapiro led a group of Democratic governors urging Philadelphia voters to take advantage of early voting at the Laborers’ District Council training center on Saturday.

Shapiro was flanked by Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker, MA Gov. Maura Healy, MD Gov. Wes Moore, NJ Gov. Phil Murphy and NY Gov. Kathy Hochul. 

“I have the distinct honor and privilege of serving as the 100th mayor of our great city of Philadelphia, birthplace of democracy,” Parker said in her opening remarks. 

“You can’t talk about the road to the White House without talking about coming through Pennsylvania and our great city of Philadelphia.”

Voting throughout the commonwealth has already started over the past couple of weeks via mail-in ballots, but voters living in counties like Bucks, Montgomery and Philadelphia can take advantage of in-person voting by applying and completing their mail-in ballot at an approved satellite office. 

Data compiled by Votehub shows that Democrats in Pennsylvania are outpacing Republicans by the number of mail-in ballot applications and the number of ballots that have been returned. 

Democrats lead Republicans 61.6% to 27% in terms of mail-in ballot applications and Democrats are leading Republicans 72.8% to 19.4% when it comes to returning those ballots. 

Throughout their speeches on Sunday, the group of Democratic governors emphasized the importance of the upcoming election and what fundamental rights are at stake. 

“The distinction could not be more clear,” Moore said. “I tell you the reason that we are all fired up … to make sure that Kamala Harris becomes the next President of the United States is not because we’re afraid of the alternative. It’s because we’re hopeful for her promise.”

Following the event, Moore shared with The Keystone the policy goals he’d like to see a Kamala Harris administration tackle in her first couple months as president. 

“I want them to do exactly what the Vice President has already said that she’s going to do. I want them to zero in and focus on economics,” Moore said.

“I want to make sure that she actually is able to honor her commitment to say that she’s going to make historic investments in childcare and get people back into the workforce. I want us to be able to get a $6,000 child tax credit because the child tax credit is one of the most effective tools that we have in our toolkit to be able to address the issue of childhood poverty. I want us to be able to raise wages and stop disincentivizing work.”