Ask Your Candidates to Answer Our Questions!
How can we know they’ll represent us if they won’t answer our questions before an election?
In just a minute or less, you can help make a difference. See below for more details.
Fair Districts PA invited candidates for PA House, Senate and Congressional districts to answer three simple questions for our Know Before You Vote campaign:
- Do you support amending the Pennsylvania constitution to create an independent citizens commission for both congressional and state legislative districts?
- Do you support legislation to ensure transparency, public input and clear, prioritized criteria for redistricting of congressional and state legislative districts?
- Do you support a change to procedural rules that would guarantee bills with bipartisan support be given a vote in committee, and if voted out of committee receive a vote on the chamber floor?
Candidates were also invited to share comments and campaign links. The first email went to all candidates on April 10 and another was sent on April 13. The Know Before You Vote webpage went live on April 14. Check it out here: fairdistrictspa.com/take-action/know-before-you-vote-1.
So far, 79 of 460 candidates have responded. Of those, about three-fourths are challengers.
We know there are 89 candidates running in contested primaries. Only a handful of those have responded to our survey
127 House races, 23 Senate races, and all 17 Congressional races will have candidates from both major parties in November.
76 House incumbents and 2 Senate incumbents have no one opposing them in the primary OR the general election. So far, only 2 of those incumbents have responded. (Thank you Representatives Chris Sappey and Arvind Venkat!).
Incumbents who don’t face challengers in the primary or general election may assume that means they don’t need to respond to voters’ questions. Some carry that same attitude into their time in office: refusing to respond to requests for meetings with constituents and ignoring emails and calls asking for support for redistricting reform legislation.
What candidates in both major parties forget is that the number of unaffiliated voters and 3rd- party voters is growing, even here in PA, despite our closed primaries. Third parties and independent voters are looking for ways to be heard and considering where to invest time in 3rd- party campaigns. Many have made redistricting reform a top platform priority.
Join us in letting candidates know that voters expect to be heard and believe redistricting reform matters. Contact them and let them know you’d like them to answer our Know Before You Vote questions.
Sample messages you can deliver in a minute or less (or 280 characters or less on X).
- As a voter in your district, I want to know where you stand on redistricting reform. Please answer the Know Before You Vote survey from Fair Districts PA. Let your voters know you believe their voices and questions matter. Contact electioninfo@fairdistrictspa.com for the link.
- Gerrymandering is wrong, no matter who does it. PA should not be a pawn in the national redistricting battles. Voters want legislators who really represent us and believe our voices matter. Please contact electioninfo@fairdistrictspa.com for the Know Before You Vote survey link.
- The PA Constitution is 250 years old this year, and still promises THE PEOPLE the right to alter and reform their government. Redistricting reform is an essential first step toward a more responsive legislative process. Please answer the Know Before You Vote survey. Contact electioninto@fairdistrictspa.com for the link.
- You’ve received several emails about the Fair Districts PA Know Before You Vote survey. I’m wondering why you haven’t responded. Voters want to know where you stand on redistricting reform and legislative rules that allow bipartisan solutions a vote. Contact electioninto@fairdistrictspa.com for the survey link.
For candidates facing no opponents in the primary or in the general election:
- Gerrymandering is wrong no matter who does it. Unaffiliated and 3rd- party candidates are tired of being treated as pawns in the two-party battles. Some are building campaigns to make that clear. Redistricting reform would make it easier for ALL our voices to be heard. Please let us know where you stand on this. Contact electioninto@fairdistrictspa.com for the survey link.
🙌 Thank candidates who DID answer our survey: Consider thanking them through an email or or card, or multiply your efforts and by thanking them on social media.
Sample Post:
Thank you, @[candidate], for answering the @FairDistrictsPA Know Before You Vote survey so we can see your position on redistricting reform and the legislative process at fairdistrictspa.com/take-action/know-before-you-vote-1. Voters want to be heard, and appreciate that you’ve listened.
Check Vote411 for more candidate positions: Fair Districts PA Is a fiscal project of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania and worked closely with League volunteers in finding candidate contact information.
The League has been providing voter information for over a century. Paper voters’ guides, often published in local papers, have now moved online to Vote411. Find more information about candidates and more candidate positions at Vote411.org. Find national League of Women Voters suggestions for outreach to candidates at Vote411.org/candidate-contact.