Today is Election Day. Public schools are closed, bars are open and, despite the misleading ads that are running again, the Voter ID Law is NOT in effect (unless you’re a first-time voter or voting in a new district, then you’ll need a valid ID).

Notable races (and there are few this time around) include City Controller and District Attorney. There is also one spot open on Pennsylvania’s Superior Court.

Incumbent Allan Butkovitz faces Terrence Tracy in the race for City Controller, while Seth Williams is running against Daniel Alvarez for District Attorney. This is Philadelphia and Butkovitz and Williams are Democrats, so basically these contests were (spoiler alert) decided in the primaries.

Here is a complete rundown of candidates for the various judicial offices from the Committee of Seventy and you can find your polling place here and your registration status here.

Problem at the polls? Call 866-OUR-VOTE. Polls close at 8 p.m.

– Mike Lyons

So, we’re passing this along in case you forgot: There’s a primary election tomorrow in the city. You could be forgiven if you didn’t remember. On the Democratic side, District Attorney Seth Williams is running unopposed and there’s a dizzying list of judges running. The hot nomination is for City Controller, the city’s auditor of financial affairs. The office has a four-year term and no term limit.

Incumbent Alan Bukovitz is running against Brett Mandel and Mark Zecca for the Democratic nomination. Bukovitz is in his second term as City Controller. Until 2004, Mandel worked in the City Controller’s office on the Financial and Policy Analysis Unit. Zecca is a former Assistant District Attorney.

There’s a Republican in this thing too – retail expert Terry Tracy. He is running unopposed for the City Controller nomination.

Former Assistant District Attorney Daniel Alvarez (Facebook page) is the lone Republican candidate for District Attorney.

Other local offices include: Judge of Court of Common Pleas, Judge of Philadelphia Municipal Court (3 vacancies), Judge of Traffic Court (3 vacancies), Inspector of Elections. Statewide offices include the Judge of the Superior Court.

A list of candidates for the various judge seats is here.

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. You can check your registration information and find your polling place here.

Voting seemed to have gotten off to a brisk start this morning, with many polling stations reporting long lines. While this is no reason to start wildly speculating about results in West Philly, it’s at least a good sign.

We will continually update this post throughout the day with bits and pieces of information and observations from around the neighborhoods. Please feel free to write us at editor@westphillylocal.com or tweet us at @westphillylocal with your observations while voting.

Here are some early tweets from this morning:

@WestPhillyLocal @Committeeof70 FYI I was required to show ID because “new voters to a district are required to show ID”

— Abhi (@AbsorbingStates) November 6, 2012

@WestPhillyLocal 36th and Locust opened 37 minutes late because the judge of elections didn't get here on time.

— Jonathan Tannenwald (@jtannenwald) November 6, 2012

https://twitter.com/mabege/status/265808077478035456

@WestPhillyLocal only had to wait about 10 minutes to vote at Kingsessing library. Crowd started to pick up when I left.

— Dan Whang (@called_out) November 6, 2012

@joeldeg @WestPhillyLocal Only polling materials should be inside. Partisan materials must be 10 feet away from polling place door.

— Leah Pillsbury (@maybeleah) November 6, 2012

@WestPhillyLocal voting at the 46/18 meth church around 1130am was smooth and painless

— Ben (suidroot@infosec.exchange) (@suidroot) November 6, 2012

Voting was ezpz! @WestPhillyLocal

— Lauren Foster (@laurenfoste) November 6, 2012

@WestPhillyLocal Waited for exactly 0 minutes at SCHA an hour or so ago.

— Preston Hull (@preston_hull) November 6, 2012

https://twitter.com/estemonte/status/265883665144356865
 

Also – to lighten things up a little – we asked what might be the best way to work “jawn” into an Election Day tweet. @AdamButler got into this. His responses:

https://twitter.com/a_butler/status/265879399075831808

https://twitter.com/a_butler/status/265879508253569024

https://twitter.com/a_butler/status/265879508253569024

Obama on the right, Romney on the left on 45th Street. Don’t forget to register to vote. Also, don’t forget that you will need ID, so get on that. Election day is November 6.

Today is primary election day in Pennsylvania. The Committee of Seventy has a handy online guide to polling places. Just go here, enter your address and it will map your polling place.

This primary will be a dry run for Pennsylvania’s new voter ID law. That means that poll workers will ask you for ID, but you can vote whether you have it or not – as long as you have voted in the same precinct before. New voters in a precinct will need to show ID.

Primary elections are set for May 17 and this time around the City Council races overshadow the Mayor’s race in terms of interest. Although Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell is running unopposed in the Democratic primary for West Philadelphia’s 3rd District, the At-large ballot and the Sheriff’s race gives voters in West Philadelphia something to chew on.

Fourteen candidates are vying for five places on the November 8 general election ballot. Nine candidates will appear on the Republican primary ballot.

The Committee of 70 has a rundown of all of the candidates in the city primaries here. Most of the profiles include pretty lengthy Q & As with the candidates. You can find your polling station here.