The only thing louder than the political noise is the voice of voters. More Philadelphians should use theirs.
“Between the Ballots: No Days Off for Democracy” kicked off this month. The initiative is designed to bring election services, poll worker recruitment, and civic engagement into the neighborhoods.
Last month, the city commissioners certified the results of 2026’s primary election — another safe, secure, and accurate election, one whose results Philadelphians can trust.
But those results highlighted an obvious flaw: Most of our neighbors didn’t show up to vote.
The 2026 primary turnout numbers tell a story of silence in which there should be a vibrant force of civic engagement:
Turnout citywide was just 22.3% — a drop from four years ago, whose 23.6% turnout was already nothing to brag about.
When you don’t include the three top-performing wards — the vaunted 9th, 22nd, and 50th Wards, which comprise the Northwest corner of the city — the citywide average drops even further, to just 20.4%.
Ward 7 saw the lowest turnout in the entire city, with fewer than 6.5% of registered voters casting a ballot.
There are always logistical hurdles to voting, including language barriers, childcare, and rigid work hours, and my office at the Philadelphia City Commissioners works tirelessly every day to tear those barriers down. We’ve made progress, but clearly, there’s still work for all of us to do.
If everything in your neighborhood, your school, your block is exactly how you want it, fine, sit this one out.
If not, there are a few things you can do — and you don’t need to wait until November.
This month marks the kickoff of “Between the Ballots: No Days Off for Democracy,” a citywide outreach initiative designed to bring voter education, election services, poll worker recruitment, and civic engagement opportunities directly into Philadelphia neighborhoods during the summer. The next event in the series will take place on Tuesday at the 3rd District satellite office at 4029 Market St., and will include food, family fun, community resources, and more.
We made significant strides when we opened satellite election offices in every City Council district in the city, and now we’re giving everyday Philadelphians even more reasons to engage with those offices any time of the year, not just when there are votes to cast.
Philadelphia has lots of ways to get involved. Our Election Academy, which launched this past spring in partnership with the nonprofit Committee of Seventy, invited registered voters from every corner of the city into our satellite election offices and our Northeast election warehouse to see exactly how voting machines are secured, tested, and audited. No taking our word for it. You can watch it happen. The program was a great success, so much so that we will continue these public sessions through the fall.
Philly Rises is our initiative to engage youth, recruiting students who are ready to make their voices heard.
The Involved at 17 program allows high school seniors to serve as poll workers, giving them a front row seat to the election process and paying them to do it.
Regardless of age, education, or income, voters cannot expect change if they don’t participate.
Political noise is louder than ever, and the resulting fatigue is real. But as we’ve seen time and again, in Philadelphia and around the country, the only thing louder is the voice of voters and their power, which has always mattered and always will.
Disengaging from local races is consequential for everyone: If you choose to sit out, you’re opting not to weigh in on everything from school board decisions and zoning matters to property taxes and what development does or doesn’t happen in your neighborhood.
Do you really want someone else making those decisions for you?
Two hundred and fifty years ago, Philadelphia didn’t sit on the sidelines. We’re not about to start now.
Omar Sabir is the chairman of the Philadelphia City Commissioners, a three-member bipartisan board of elected officials responsible for voter registration and election administration for the city of Philadelphia.