Polling Place Project

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Polling Place Project

Polling Place Locator

The polling place locator is my attempt to make it easier for Philadelphians to vote. It allows people to look up their polling place from home, school or work, wwherever they have access to a web browser.

The City Commissioners

City Commissioners Marge Tartaglione and Joseph Duda are the elected officials responsible for administering Philadelphia's elections. They also act as custodians on the public's behalf for the campaign finance reports submitted by candidates.

Resistance to Change

My experience with the Commissioners makes me wonder whether they are open to new and better ways of doing things. I first asked Commissioner Tartaglione for the necessary data in my letter of April 9. So far Commissioner Tartaglione has taken the position that she has not denied my request, but is still "considering" it. It baffles me that the Commissioners seem so uninterested in an innovation that would allow more people to vote while reducing their work load.

The Commissioners Legal Obligation to Provide Access to Public Records

Do the Commissioners have a legal obligation to provide the public with access to voter registration and other public records on computer storage media, if so requested? The following case law would seem to suggest that they do. I handed out copies of this case to Commissioner Tartaglione and her staff at the April 25 meeting. To date neither Commissioner Tartaglione nor her staff have cited case law or statute which would give them the right to withhold this information from the public.

751 A.2d. 1211, Hessley v. Campbell

Even if chairman of County Democratic Committee had made request for voter registration information as a member of the general public, county commissioners would have been obligated to grant his request under Voter Registration Act, stating that county's "street list," which is list of names and addresses of all registered electors, is open to public inspection and, upon request, photocopy of record or computer-generated data record shall be provided to the public at cost. 25 PS Sec. 961.307

View full text of the opinion here.

Letter to Mayor Street

April 27, 2001 Dear Mr. Street: I would like to ask for your support for a project which I hope will allow more people to vote. I run an independent web site about Philadelphia's City Government. Come election day, May 15, I would like people to be able to look up their polling place using a web browser from home, work, etc. I formally requested in my letter of April 9 that the City Commissioners to supply me with the necessary information (essentially the Ward Division book on computer tape). I repeated my request in person at the April 18 and 25 meetings of the Commissioners, but to date I have yet to receive either the data or a written explanation as to why my request is being denied. One would think Commissioner Tartaglione would jump at the chance to allow more people to vote while saving herself some work. During last Wednesday's meeting, I attempted to answer Commissioner Tartaglione's many concerns. I would be happy to work with the Commissioner's staff to resolve her concerns, even though I believe that the Commissioners have a legal obligation to provide this information to the public.[1] What better way to show that Philadelphia City Government has both feet firmly planted in the 21st century than by making it possible for Philadelphians to look up their polling place on the Web? For this reason, I am asking you to urge Commissioner Tartaglione to accept this small change in the status quo. Sincerely, Edmund Goppelt Cc: City Commissioner Margaret Tartaglione [1] 751 A.2d 1211 Hessley v. Campbell mandates that the Commissioners provide computer tapes of the voter registration database to any member of the public who requests it.