Pattye Benson

Community Matters

Pennsylvania Primary Election

Deadline to Register to Vote in June 2 Primary Election is Tonight May 18 at Midnight! Deadline to Apply for Mail-In & Absentee Ballots is May 26! Your Vote Matters!

May 18, 2020
5 Comments

If you are not a registered voter, you have until midnight TONIGHT (May 18) to register before the June 2 Primary Election.

You can register online to vote at www.pavoterservices.pa.gov – but again, you must register by midnight tonight!

Registered voters wishing to cast a ballot in the June 2nd Primary Election can do so either in person, or for the first time in history, via mail-in ballot.To protect yourself and fellow neighbors due to Covid-19, all registered PA voters are eligible to request to vote by mail but you need to act now – the deadline to apply for mail-in and absentee ballots is May 26 at 5 PM.

The best and easiest way to apply is online at www.votespa.com – it is fast, free, secure and nonpartisan. It takes less than 2 minutes to register to vote. If you have a valid PA Driver’s License or PennDOT ID number, you can apply online- otherwise you will need to download a paper application and mail it in to request a mail-in ballot.

Everyone should be encouraged to vote via mail-in or absentee ballot. I don’t think it can be emphasized enough the importance of voting by mail, especially for Chester County voters in vulnerable condition and at higher risk of exposure.

Some tips for filling in your mail-in ballot: Remember to use a black pen, follow all the ballot instruction, place the ballot inside the “privacy” envelope and then into the return envelope, and add a stamp. Complete and sign the outer return envelope where indicated. (Your signature on the outer envelope is required for your ballot to count.)

Deadline Alert:

  • If you plan to vote by absentee or mail-in ballot in the 2020 GENERAL PRIMARY, your completed application must be received in the county office by 5 PM on May 26.
  • Your voted ballot must be received in your county election office by 8 PM on June 2.
  • A late application will not be accepted, even if it was postmarked before the deadline.

For additional information, call 1-877-VOTESPA (option 3) or go to www.votespa.com .

Voting in Tuesday’s Primary Election . . . A Public Fiduciary Responsibility

May 15, 2010
Comments

With just a few days until Primary Election Day, I thought that the following Letter to the Editor which appears in this week’s Suburban Main Line Life newspaper is particularly appropriate. Please take the time to read the words of attorney Eugene Grace of Paoli — it is important for all of us to be part of the process. In Mr. Grace’s words, ” . . . Our right to vote empowers us to choose officials to whom we entrust our most sacred possession, our freedom. . . “

To the Editor:

A fiduciary is a person or entity who serves another party in a representative capacity, subject to a fiduciary obligation. A fiduciary obligation is a legal principle that requires the fiduciary to act solely in the best interest of the party being represented (principal). A fiduciary obligation may require that a fiduciary act contrary to self-interests in pursuit of the best interests of the principal.

Public officials are elected to office with the understanding that they will pursue the best interests of their respective constituencies. Public officials are heavily burdened with ethical requirements to ensure that their conduct is not self-interested. Another thread in the American form of government is that we are a republic. This means that legislative matters are voted upon by elected officials, not by the people directly. Essentially we give our legislators the power of our proxy. This governmental form gives the elected official a certain degree of flexibility in interpreting his or her mandate in carrying out the will of the people as he or she understands it. This allows an elected official to introduce an element of personal conscience into the calculus of his or her vote on a particular issue. Elected officials must determine whether their constituency is for, against, confused or neutral on any matter.

Politicians risk their office if they disregard the desires of their electoral base. Like a fiduciary, they cannot vote to bestow a benefit on themselves and should not vote in a manner which is inconsistent with the proxy given to them by their electorate. It is up to each separate electoral district to determine whether its legislators’ overall voting record is consistent with their core values of freedom, due process and common sense.

The law requires that a fiduciary be faithful to his or her principal. Elected officials owe that duty to their constituents. Every election day, constituents have the final say on the degree to which their elected officials have been faithful to those principles. Remember that many local elections are settled on primary day, which will be next Tuesday, May 18. Our right to vote empowers us to choose officials to whom we entrust our most sacred possession, our freedom. Please vote.

Eugene P. Grace, Paoli

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