Elections. (Credit: Montgomery County)
Montgomery County officials continued preparations for the upcoming 2025 general election just days before Election Day.
Montgomery County Election Board Chairman Neil Makhija emphasized the importance of voter engagement and turnout for the off-year election featuring municipal positions, school boards and judgeships.
“I’m always looking to see more people vote,” Makhija said ahead of Election Day on Tuesday.
Local Races to Watch
SCHOOL BOARD
Abington
For the Abington School District School Director race in District 4, the candidates include Adrienne Fletcher, Angelique Frazier, and Yaasiyn Muhammad, all running as Democrats. Brian Allen is seeking the position with a dual Democratic and Republican affiliation. The Republican candidates are Joseph Rooney, Joseph O’Brien, and Roy J. Bant Jr.
Upper Moreland
For the Upper Moreland School District School Director race in District 4, the Democratic candidates are Samantha Kabe, Landon Synnestvedt, and Grant Rounds. Daniel Richmond is running with both Democratic and Republican support. The Republican candidates include Dawn Henderson, Shawn Hopkins, and Barbara Tuck.
MUNICIPALITY RACES
Abington
For Abington Township, the candidates for Tax Collector in District 4 are Karen Geld Sanchez representing the Democratic Party and Giuseppe Bucci representing the Republican Party.
In Ward 2, the Commissioner race features Jeremy Rosenbaum for the Democrats and Daniel P. Donnelly for the Republicans.
Ward 4 has Jimmy Diplacido running as a Democrat and Joe Dunn as a Republican.
In Ward 6, Democratic candidate Jeffrey R. Browne faces Republican Maria Dellamonica. Ward 8 has Lori Henry running for the Democrats.
Ward 10 features Christine Young-Gertz for the Democrats and Amy R. Haviland for the Republicans.
In Ward 12, Matthew Vahey is running as a Democrat, while Ward 14 has Lori Schreiber seeking the Commissioner position with both Democratic and Republican support.
Upper Moreland
In Upper Moreland, the Tax Collector race in District 4 features Alex Levy representing the Democratic Party and Frederick Dollinger representing the Republican Party.
For Ward 1 Commissioner, Jay Silverman is the Democratic candidate, while Richard Hayward Sr. represents the Republicans.
Ward 3 has Sandra Richman running with both Democratic and Republican support, and Ward 5 features Clifton Kip McFatridge also with dual-party backing.
In Ward 7, the candidates are Sarah Byrnes for the Democrats and Sandy Madonna for the Republicans. Ward 6 has Susan E. Worth-Lamanna running as a Democrat and R. Samuel Valenza as the Republican candidate.
Where to Vote
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Montgomery County Voters
Around 618,000 registered voters were recorded in Montgomery County, according to a Montgomery County spokesperson. There were roughly 105,000 mail-in ballot requests, of which 60,500 were submitted as of 4 p.m. Tuesday, which reflected a roughly 58 percent return rate.
Four Montgomery County voters were mailed two mail-in ballots earlier this month ahead of the general election, according to Montgomery County Communications Director Megan Alt. They were among 68 ballots, which were possibly duplicated across seven counties, including Carbon, Dauphin, Luzerne, and Montgomery counties, according to reporting from the Pennsylvania Capital-Star.
While the circumstances leading up to the incident were unclear, Alt stressed “our elections have many safeguards to ensure that only one ballot can be voted and counted per individual qualified electors.”
Election information
All ballots must be returned by 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 4, when the polls close on Election Day. Along with voting by mail or absentee ballots, voters can also cast their ballot in-person.
Eighteen drop boxes are available across Montgomery County. Locations included Abington, Ambler, Bryn Mawr, Collegeville, Elkins Park, Fort Washington, Green Lane, Harleysville, King of Prussia, Lafayette Hill, Lansdale, Narberth, Norristown, Pottstown, Royersford, and Willow Grove. The Montgomery County office of Voter Services has listed a full schedule and locations at montcovotes.com. Anyone with questions can also call 610-278-3280.
As for the election’s in-person component, around 1,500 poll workers and 390 judges of election will be working at 426 precincts across the county. The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, and Makhija stressed registered voters “make a plan to vote on Election Day.”
State Supreme Court judges up for retention
In addition to the local races, decisions whether or not to retain three state Supreme Court justices have become a hot topic.
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justices Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty and David Wecht, all Democrats, are up for retention and voters will be tasked with choosing whether or not they’re on the bench another decade. Reporting from the Associated Press revealed if the trio loses in the upcoming election, there’d be vacancies and the 5-2 Democratic majority would become an even 2-2 split until 2027. There was a caveat identified for a shorter time if Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, and the majority Republican state Senate can reach an agreement on interim appointments.
“There’s also the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which is on the back of the ballot. It’s a retention race that doesn’t come up very often because they have 10-year terms, but these are really important elections that affect people’s lives in really important ways,” Makhija said, spotlighting the constitution, gerrymandering, as well as environmental and reproductive rights as critical issues.
Election safety, security remain top of mind
Stressing the importance of free and fair elections, Makhija underscored “there’s so many safeguards that make it certain that our elections have integrity. We also do two audits after every election.”
The Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office also monitors a tip line at 610-292-2024 where people can report tips or concerns of suspicious activity related to the election.
Additional candidate information questionnaires can be found in election guides on The Reporter and Times Herald websites.
