Philly’s incumbent elections officials won their uncontested primary elections. Now the real fight begins.
The three incumbents won uncontested. Two are safe, but the third faces a challenge in November.
Philadelphia’s Board of Elections knew one set of results before polls closed: All three of them won their primaries.
Democrats Lisa Deeley and Omar Sabir ran unopposed for reelection as city commissioners, the office that runs Philadelphia elections. Seth Bluestein, a Republican, also ran without an opponent.
But now the real race begins — at least for Bluestein.
He faces a challenge in November from Working Families Party candidate Jarrett Smith, and observers said the race is expected to be highly competitive. Bluestein spent more than a decade as former Commissioner Al Schmidt’s deputy before replacing Schmidt, who is now the acting secretary of state, in February. Smith, a longtime organizer and an SEIU lobbyist in Harrisburg, is running as part of a broader Working Families Party attempt to oust Republicans from Philly government.
Deeley and Sabir are all but guaranteed to win reelection in November because they are Democrats in a heavily blue city. Both vowed to continue their efforts to improve elections as the city heads into next year’s presidential race.
The commissioners run elections, and that job has gotten harder in recent years
Each of the three Philadelphia city commissioners has a small independent office; together, they manage the elections department and run elections.
Election administration has gotten more complex as Pennsylvania has replaced and upgraded voting equipment and dramatically expanded mail voting. Then came the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 2020 election was the most difficult election to administer in modern history.
Since then, elections officials across the state have worked to keep up with continued challenges. What was once a little-seen operation has more than doubled in budget, significantly expanded its staff, and become much more prominent in the public eye.
“I thought it was just going to be me going to a few schools, to senior homes, telling people how to vote. But it transformed itself,” Sabir said.
At the same time, the job has also become more difficult because of the sharp rise of election mis- and disinformation, fueled by former President Donald Trump’s lies about voter fraud and stolen elections. Election denialism and skepticism have been a challenge for elections officials across the country, and Philadelphia has often been a target for baseless attacks on Pennsylvania elections.
The commissioners have struggled to combat those efforts. And they’ve faced abuse, threats, and harassment. The hallway entrance to their offices in City Hall used to be open to the public; now it’s locked. The city’s new election warehouse has metal detectors and bulletproof glass.
“Who would have ever thought back in 2015 that I would be talking to you now about your life getting threatened for doing your job?” Deeley said. “It’s kind of hard to talk about.”
The real commissioners fight this year: Republicans vs. the Working Families Party
Bluestein ran uncontested in Tuesday’s primary, but he faces a potentially significant challenge in Smith.
While Democrats hold a voter registration edge in Philadelphia, one of the three commissioner positions — as well as two seats on City Council — are reserved for candidates from minority parties. Typically, they’ve been held by Republicans.
The progressive Working Families Party claimed a historic victory when Kendra Brooks won a City Council seat in 2019, and the party is seeking to take more city offices this year.
That means Smith is running as part of a broader Working Families ticket that is aiming to remove Republicans from Philly government.
“Unfortunately, if you’re electing to be a Republican in 2023, post-Jan. 6, post the attacks on our democracy, you’re actively choosing to be in the same party that has largely adopted a message of hate,” Smith said.
It’s too early to know how competitive the race will be. Republicans have seen waning influence in Philadelphia politics in recent years, and Brooks’ victory sent shockwaves through both Democratic and Republican political establishments. If the Working Families Party gains momentum, led by Brooks’ run for a second term, Smith could pose a real threat to Bluestein.
Bluestein has worked in elections for more than a decade but hasn’t ever run for office. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania with bachelor’s and master’s degrees, Bluestein joined the office as a deputy to Al Schmidt in 2012.
He eventually became the top aide to Schmidt, who became nationally known in 2020 as the Philadelphia Republican who consistently refuted the lies of former President Donald Trump and helped defend the election.
Bluestein was at Schmidt’s side throughout it all, drawing threats and antisemitic abuse after being publicly identified by Trump’s team. Bluestein touts his behind-the-scenes experience as part of his campaign message.
“It is extremely important for the voters of Philadelphia that we have the most prepared, experienced, and trusted board of elections possible going into the next presidential election,” Bluestein said. “Having a true bipartisan board of elections, with commissioners who have years of experience … is going to be very important to how we run the election going forward in the next term.”
Last year, Mayor Jim Kenney nominated Bluestein to replace Schmidt, who left the office and, after a stint heading the Committee of Seventy, is now Pennsylvania’s acting secretary of state.
Smith said he has nothing against Bluestein personally, but believes Republicans have no place running elections. Given the rise of election denialism in the party and attacks on elections from the right, Smith said, no Republican — even a moderate who has sought to defend Philly elections — should be in power.
And as a queer biracial person, he said, his perspective is shaped by the historically marginalized groups he sees continuing to be left out: “For anyone who comes from marginalized communities, there’s too much at stake to leave anything at risk to a party that is trying to literally end our freedoms, and in some cases our lives.”
Smith said he’ll focus on community engagement, and wants to use the office to improve Philly’s stagnant and falling voter turnout, especially among communities of color.
The two Democrats are almost certain to win reelection
Deeley first won in 2015; this upcoming term will be her third. Sabir was first elected in 2019.
Deeley is chair of the commissioners, meaning her office handles much of the administrative work of the elections department that doesn’t require a board vote. She has at times sought to draw attention to issues and advocate for changes.
For example, she helped sound the alarm in 2020 about the risks of disenfranchisement from a Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision that so-called “naked ballots” that are missing inner secrecy envelopes must be rejected. And she votes each election in favor of counting some ballots she knows must be rejected under law, calling them “votes of conscience.”
“I would like to be the place where other counties come … to see how voting is done,” Deeley said. “I want to be the standard-bearer, and we’re doing everything we can to get there.”
Sabir, the lone Black commissioner, spends significant time on voter outreach and community engagement in historically underserved areas, especially Black communities and poor and low-income neighborhoods. He regularly appears at neighborhood events and in Black-owned media to encourage voter registration and turnout.
His goal, Sabir said: “just fighting voter apathy and particularly in communities of color who don’t feel as though they’re connected to the government.”