Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters.
HARRISBURG — Election Day 2022 is approaching and Spotlight PA wants to make sure you’re equipped with the knowledge you’ll need to cast your ballot.
Voters will choose a new governor and U.S. senator this year, elected officials who will help determine the future of major issues like abortion access and energy production. Voters will also cast ballots for representatives to the U.S. House and lawmakers to serve in the General Assembly.
Before you cast a ballot, here’s a last-minute checklist of everything you’ll need to vote.
First, the basics:
- Make sure you’re registered. You can check your voter registration status here. Unfortunately, if you’re not already registered, it’s too late to vote in this election cycle.
- It also is too late to request a mail ballot if you haven’t already. If you have, you can track your mail ballot here. It must be received by your county election office by 8 p.m. on Election Day. Read more about mail ballots.
- If you plan to vote in-person, find your polling place here.
- You need to bring a form of ID such as a driver’s license or a passport if it’s your first time voting at your polling location. You can find the full list of acceptable IDs here.
- Any other questions? Call your county election office to check. You can find their number here, and read more Spotlight PA election guides here.
And here’s what you can expect to see on your ballot:
- Enter your address into Spotlight PA’s interactive sample ballot to find your candidates.
- All voters will have five options on the ballot for U.S. Senate: John Fetterman (D), Mehmet Oz (R), Richard Weiss (G), Daniel Wassmer (Keystone Party of Pennsylvania), and Erik Gerhardt (L). Read WESA’s guide to the candidates.
- All voters will have five options on the ballot for governor: Josh Shapiro (D), Doug Mastriano (R), Christina Digiulio (G), Joe Soloski (Keystone Party of Pennsylvania), and Matt Hackenburg (L). Read our complete guide to the candidates for governor.
- All voters will select a person to represent them in the U.S. House of Representatives.
- All voters will select a person to represent them in the Pennsylvania House.
- Voters who live in even-numbered state Senate districts will vote for candidates.
- Because of this year’s redistricting process, you may live in altered or different U.S. House, state House, and state Senate districts. Use Spotlight PA’s sample ballot to find your district and candidates, then consult our vetting guide to learn how to research them.
There will be no statewide proposed constitutional amendments on the ballot. However, there may be local ballot initiatives depending on where you live. Check your county’s election website or sample ballot.
Read our complete coverage, plus key dates, campaign finance data, sample ballots & more at our Election Center 2022 website.
Spotlight on the Issues: Where Mastriano and Shapiro stand on:
» College Funding & Student Debt
» Abortion, Medicaid, & Opioids
» Rural Health Care & Broadband
» Taxes & Business Regulations
» Election Security & Voting Rights
A complete listing of Spotlight PA voter guides:
» Your complete guide to voting in the Nov. 8 election
» Everything you need to know about mail ballots
» Your complete guide to the candidates for governor
» How to vet the candidates on your midterm ballot
» No constitutional amendments on the ballot, but big ones loom
» How to serve as a poll worker on Nov. 8
» These Pa. voters haven’t missed a Nov. election in 50+ years
» How Spotlight PA will cover Pennsylvania’s 2022 election
En Español:
» Una guía básica para investigar a los candidatos
» Cómo trabajar como trabajador electoral el 8 de noviembre
» Todo lo que necesita saber para votar por correo
» Su guía completa de los candidatos a gobernador
» Una guía completa para las elecciones del 8 de noviembre
A graduate of the Columbia Journalism School’s data journalism program, Kate Huangpu got her start reporting on police accountability and social services for survivors of domestic violence in New York City. She previously worked at ABC’s World News Tonight and MSNBC.
WHILE YOU’RE HERE… If you learned something from this story, pay it forward and become a member of Spotlight PA so someone else can in the future at spotlightpa.org/donate. Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability journalism that gets results.
