Voter Registration & Swarthmore Voting Locations

Please read this page carefully, as the rules for registration and voting are somewhat more complicated than you might think.

Jump to Voting Places and Map
Absentee Ballot
Voter ID mailer
Voting Day

Ballot Info by Zip code from Non-partisan League of Women Voter's

Pennsylvania Voting Instructions from the Commonwealth

To participate in the 2009 Pennsylvania Municipal Election, November 3, 2009,
register by October 5, 2009.

If you are a U.S. citizen and will be 18 years of age or older by voting day, you are encouraged to register and to vote.

Vote here or back home?
You may choose to vote either in your home town or in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania - but not both. Before choosing Swarthmore, consider if you might ever need to prove consistent residency "intent." Intent is best demonstrated by keeping all your legal addresses, including those for voting, driver's licence, etc., together as one for several years. Reasons to prove intent include eligibility for in-state graduate school tuition in your home state, or for taxation reasons if you own stocks and bonds or receive income from a trust, or from other investments. Otherwise, you can choose to have different legal addresses for different purposes, and most states, including Pennsylvania, do not prohibit you from having different legal addresses for driver's license and for voting, so long as you have only one for each.

To vote back home or by Absentee Ballot, follow the local voting rules for your home town or county. Ask for help from your city hall, or from your county court house. Much absentee ballot information is online, do a web search on your state and "absentee ballot". Find and read the information your state publishes on the subject. Pennsylvania Absentee ballot information is available online.

Absentee Ballot Request deadlines vary from state to state and sometimes county by county. Check with your municipality.

Registration deadlines vary from state to state, but the norm is 30 days prior to the election. To participate in the 2009 Pennsylvania Municipal Election, register by October 5, 2009.

To always get your vote counted, vote every time you can. Ensure that your vote will be counted by re-registering to vote every time you change your residence, and vote in every primary and election for which you are eligible.

Voting in Swarthmore

Next Voting Day: November 3, 2009. For information about upcoming elections and what will be on the ballot, call the Election Bureau at 610-891-4120, or try the nonpartisan League of Women Voter's "Smart Ballot" web site.

Pennsylvania Voter Registration deadline is October 5, 2009. By law, the deadline for Pennsylvania voter registration is 30 days prior to the next election, but the exact date is set by the election bureau, whose phone is 610-891-4659.

It is illegal to vote in two or more districts. If you wish to vote in Swarthmore but have already registered in another municipality, register here and then write the other election bureau to inform them of your change.

Student Registration MUST include Residence Hall

Pennsylvania Voter Registration forms are placed in every student's mailbox at the beginning of the year, and are available at the Registrar's Office, and are available online (PA voter reg. form). Please also see our PDF on how to indicate your residence hall in the "address of residence" box on the form. Put the dorm name but for your privacy, not your room number. Completed forms should be signed, dated, and mailed to:
Delaware County Voter Registration Office
Gov't Center Building
201 W Front St.,
Media PA 19063-2728
Voter registration forms must be postmarked 30 days prior to the election, and must have proper postage.

Because Swarthmore is divided into three registration & voting "precincts" and different residence halls are in different precincts, so you are required by law to include your residence hall on your Pennsylvania voter registration form, in the box labeled: "Address of residence." Note that this is different from your "Mailing address" - also required to register - which can be simply 500 College Avenue. When writing the residence address, put the dormitory first, then 500 College Ave - except for Strath Haven dorm, for which the address of residence is simply "801 Yale Ave." Then, for "mailing address" list 500 College Ave. The election bureau has the names of our residence halls on file, including "Alice Paul" for the new residence hall, except that they don't call Strath Haven by its name, it is "801 Yale Ave." The residence hall names are listed below by precinct. Your residence hall room number is not required but won't hurt - either way is fine - so long as you include residence hall in the "Address of residence."

Do NOT put an out-of-state driver's licence number on a Pennsylvania voter registration form. This would likely disqualify the registration form. Leave the driver licence box empty unless you have a Pennsylvania drivers licence.

If you have moved, re-register: If you have moved from one dorm to another or from one address to another, you should re-register. Fill out a new registration form just as you would do for any change of address. Remember to include your residence hall in the "Address of residence" box on the Pennsylvania voter registration form.

Voter registration ID mailer: First time registrants or change of address registrants receive a mailer card confirming their registration, address and voting place. Getting the mailer also indicates that you are actually enrolled to vote at the voting place for that precinct. If you don't get a confirmation ID mailer card within 14 days of registration, you should call the Delaware County Voter Registration Office at 610-891-4659 and request immediate action on your registration form.

Unsure how you registered here before? If you have registered here before but forgotten where you said you reside, you can call the Delaware County Voter Registration Office at 610-891-4659.

Voting Day

Vote at the correct voting place: Vote at the precinct where you are registered.

Do NOT use an out of state drivers license as voter ID. The ID must reflect your Pennsylvania voter residence. ID is required for newly registered or re-registered voters.

• It is BEST to use the voter ID mailer card the election bureau sends you, or your Swarthmore College student ID. The mailer card reflects your voter registration exactly as it is recorded by the County, and lists your voting place. Your Swarthmore College ID is also fine.
• Other approved forms of Pennsylvania ID also work, the complete list is available on the PA web page.

Consider NOT wearing political apparel, including political buttons, hats, tee shirts, etc., to the voting place. Visibly wearing political apparel could be considered "passive electioneering" and might result in problems at some voting places. Political material can be covered up with a jacket or other cover to make the political content not visible. (Some say this issue is urban myth.)

Consider NOT using "straight-ticket voting." With "straight-ticket" or "straight-party" voting, you press one button to vote for every candidate of that party. The alternative is to vote individually for your candidates without ever touching the straight-party button. Concerns have been raised about straight-ticket voting. (Some say this issue is urban myth.)

Voting Machine Instructions (including cute video) are available online. Swarthmore is a part of Delaware County, PA. Also note Pennsylvania's Basic Guide to Student Voting.

Polls open 7:00am to 8:00pm. Lines are possible. Be patient. Lines are likely especially at times before and after traditional office hours, or around noon, when office workers come to vote. If you are on line prior to 8:00pm you will be allowed to vote. Do not expect to vote if you arrive at the polling place after 8:00pm.

You can walk to the voting places. Vans may be running on election day, but all the voting locations are within easy walking distance from the College or from your residence hall. The Northern precinct is a 10 minute walk from Parrish; the Western precinct is a 20 minute walk from Parrish. See map below.

Voter Intimidation - be prepared: In years past, some Swarthmore students were intimdated by other voters who questioned the authenticity of the students' Pennsylvania residence. College students are permited voter registration based on residence at school (assuming they otherwise qualify to vote). In general, if anyone makes you feel uncomfortable about coming to vote, ignore them, or, if you wish, report them to an Election Judge. All voting places have non-partisan Election Judges who understand the rules and can defend your right to vote.

Just in case: The Provisional ballot. If you go to the voting place for which you are certain you are registered, but you are not on their list of registered voters, ask an official there for help and be patient, it could take a while. The official may try to resolve things with phone calls to the county court house. If no record of your registration can be found on that day, you should ask to vote a "provisional ballot", which you will be allowed to do at that voting place. Provisional ballots permit the county to research your registration. If your valid registration is found, your ballot will be counted. If no valid registration is found, your provisional ballot will NOT be counted and you will be informed by letter.

Where to vote in Swarthmore:

Northern Precinct: Students who have registered to vote as residents of Dana, Hallowell, Lodges, Mertz, Alice Paul, David Kemp, Parrish, Wharton, Willets, Whittier, Woolman, and Worth, and off-campus housing north of the tracks, vote in the Northern Precinct, at the SRS Elementary School. The SRS Elementary School is down the hill of College Ave, cross at the light and on down past the athletic fields on the right. This is a 5-10 minute walk from Parrish.

Western Precinct: Students who have registered to vote as residents of MaryLyon, Palmer, Pittenger, Roberts, and 801 Yale Ave. (StrathHaven), and off campus housing south of the tracks and mostly west of Route 320 (see map), vote in the Western Precinct , at the Rutgers Ave. School. From campus, go down Rutgers Ave (starts next to the PNC Bank) crossing Harvard and then Yale, then up the next block and see the old school building, now the Cerebral Palsy Center and still the voting place, on your left. This is a 15-20 minute walk from Parrish, and a 10-15 minute walk from Mary Lyon.

Eastern Precinct: Students who have registered to vote as residents in off-campus housing south of the tracks and mostly east of 320 (see map), vote in the Eastern precinct at Borough Hall. This is in the same building as holds the Swarthmore Public Library, in the ville on Park Ave.