Primary season is upon us once again, but as this is a presidential year, there are some things to be aware of. Only major parties in Pennsylvania have primaries. As a political body, the Pennsylvania Forward Party cannot formally participate. If you would like to vote in the Primary, you will need to be registered as either a Republican or a Democrat.

There are several important dates to remember. First and foremost is that the primary is scheduled for April 23^rd, 2024. The polls will be open from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM. Prior to this date, you have until April 8^th, 2024 to change your registration. Many of our members are not registered with a major party. If you would like to participate in the primary elections, you will need to change your party registration.

Furthermore, if you are registered with a major party & would like to vote by mail, you have until April 16^th, 2024, to request a mail in ballot. (https://www.vote.pa.gov/Voting-in-PA/Pages/Mail-and-Absentee-Ballot.aspx). If you decide to vote by mail, you must make sure that your ballot is RECEIVED by your county election office by April 23, 2024

• April 8^th—Last day to register
• April 16^th—Last day to request a mail in ballot
  • April 23^rd—Mail in ballots must be RECEIVED by your County election office.

The filling date for candidates to appear on the primary ballot has already passed. There are five statewide contests. These are the candidates who will appear on the ballot for those races:

1. President of the United States
   1. Democrats
      1. Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
      2. Dean Benson Phillips
   2. Republicans
      1. Donald John Trump
      2. Nikki R. Haley
2. United States Senator
   1. Democrats
      1. Robert P. Casey, Jr.
      2. William Parker
   2. Republicans
      1. David H. McCormick
      2. Joseph J. Vodvarka
      3. Brandi Tomasetti
3. Attorney General
   1. Democrats
      1. Keir N. Bradford-Gray
      2. Joseph Jamil Khan
      3. Eugenio Depasquale
      4. Jack Stollsteimer
      5. Jared G. Solomon
   2.  Republicans
      1. David Sunday
      2. Wendell Craig Williams
4. Auditor General
   1. Democrats
      1. Malcom Kenyatta
      2. Mark E. Pinsley
   2. Republicans
      1. Timothy Lionel Defoor
5. State Treasurer
   1. Democrats
      1. Ryan Bizzaro
      2. Erin R. McClelland
   2. Republicans
      1. Stacy L. Garrity

If you are considering becoming a candidate and running with us, or as an outright independent, you will need to disaffiliate with both major parties and register as an independent at least a month prior to the primary date (roughly March 23^rd). This requirement only applies to candidates.

The Pennsylvania Forward will be running candidates in the General Election on November 5^th, 2024—including two statewide candidates. Our candidates will have until August 1^st to gather signatures and file their paperwork. These signatures only need to be from registered voters without regard to party. As such, the best day for third parties to collect signatures will be on Primary day. We will be organizing volunteers to stand outside of polling places to collect signatures from primary voters.

We are also encouraging our supporters to serve as poll workers. Our state is desperately short of election workers. Since 2019 we have lost nearly 300 years of combined experience among election officials (Votebeat—Carter Walker). But you can help. The Secretary of State has created a webpage that gives instructions on how to volunteer.

The Pennsylvania Forward Party is especially interested in encouraging our supporters to pursue the position of Judge of Elections. This is an elected position but is vacant in many precincts across the Commonwealth. The judge of Elections is the person in charge of running the polling location on Primary Day and the November general election. Apart from those two days, the only other time commitment is a bit of training. Volunteers are paid for both the training and working on the Primary & the General elections. It is a major goal of the Pennsylvania Forward Party to fill as many Judge of Elections positions as possible—either by appointment this year or by running for election in 2025.