Group wants to relocate area polling places

Kevin Sassett has worked in local politics for 20 years. The 27th Ward Democratic leader is familiar with the way things work at City Hall, and he knows what actions need to be taken to get things done in his University City neighborhood. But it took suggestions from Penn students new to the Philadelphia political scene to get Sassett to change his thinking on where to put polling places within the ward. Sassett said he and other members of the 27th Ward Democratic Executive Committee are working to consolidate voting stations in five of the ward's 23 divisions -- the five where most students reside. He said he hopes they will be merged in time for next April's primary election, when voters will choose Democratic and Republican presidential nominees. With the students' suggestions in mind, the committee sought to create a single on-campus polling place for next week's general election. However, such changes must be approved by Philadelphia city commissioners, who are also up for re-election next week. Sassett explained that because the commissioners are involved in the upcoming election, they would have been forced to defer a decision on the polling-place matter to a judge, and the process probably would not have been completed in time. Residents of the divisions that will be consolidated currently vote in one of three locations: High Rise East, High Rise South or Irvine Auditorium. Often, when students register and then move the following year, they will arrive at the incorrect polling place on Election Day, and will be sent to another location, Sassett added. Their frustration with the organization of polling places can lead students to refrain from casting votes altogether, Sassett said. "What we're hoping to do by consolidating the polling places is eliminate the run-around that a lot of these voters get," said Jeff Pokras, a College junior who is also a member of the committee. If the University and the city agree to the student committee members' proposal, all of these voters will cast ballots in one place next year -- most likely Houston Hall's Bodek Lounge. The eventual choice of location will depend on a number of factors, Sassett said -- including whether voting machines can be delivered and removed in a timely manner, and how far voters would then have to travel to cast their ballots. Sassett added that he does not want to help students at the expense of neighborhood residents. "I thought that we would lose votes that way for folks who live eight blocks away, but my students tell me everyone pretty much passes Houston Hall on a given day," he said. Pokras said he hopes that by consolidating the three polling places into one, students will become more involved in the welfare of the community. If more students vote, "our interests as students at Penn will be more considered throughout the city and state," he explained.

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