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League of Women Voters Of Lebanon County

Primary 2009 General 2008 Primary 2008 General 2007 Primary 2007 Campaign 2006 Campaign 2005 Campaign 2004 Campaign 2003

State & Federal Candidates 2002 President, VP, US Congress & Senate, PA House & Senate, Governor, Row Officers....

Local Candidates 2001

Commissioners, Row Officers, Mayor, Council, Supervisors, School board....

Ballot Question 2002

CITIZEN EDUCATION FUND NONPARTISAN VOTERS GUIDE

Polls open 7 A.M. to 8 P.M.

This Voters Guide may be taken into the voting booth.

FOR ELECTION INFORMATION

Contact your county Board of Elections. The League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania Citizen Information Center also provides election information. CALL TOLL FREE -- 1-800-692-7281

ABOUT THIS GUIDE

The material in this Guide was compiled by the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania. This material may not be altered or reprinted without the permission of the League. Each candidate's reply has been printed as submitted, except to use standard abbreviations and by editing from the bottom when a candidate's reply exceeded the word limit. The candidates listed are those whose names appear on the ballot as of March 15, 2004. They are listed according to their ballot order.

PURPOSE AND POLICY OF THE LEAGUE

The purpose of the League of Women Voters is to promote political responsibility through informed and active participation of citizens in government. The League is nonpartisan: it does not support or oppose any political parties or candidates. Nothing in this guide should be construed as an endorsement of any candidate by the League of Women Voters.

NEW THIS YEAR!

IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR NEW VOTERS

If you are a new voter or if you are voting at a polling place for the first time then you must bring your voter ID card or a photo ID such as a driver’s license, student ID or some other form of Federal or State government issued ID. Some forms of non-photo ID are also acceptable such as a firearm permit, current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, or government check. If you do no have any acceptable ID then you must be allowed to vote by provisional ballot.

PROVISIONAL BALLOTS

If your right to vote is challenged at the polls on election day, you are in the right polling place, and the problem cannot be resolved by the judge of elections, you have the right to ask for and vote by provisional ballot. If it is later determined that you were eligible to vote your ballot will be counted. You will be given instructions on how to determine if your vote was counted.

ABSENTEE VOTING

Registered voters who are ill, disabled, or will be absent from the municipality on Election Day may vote by absentee ballot. Completed APPLICATIONS for absentee ballots must be received by the county Board of Elections by 5 P.M., Tuesday, April 20. Completed absentee BALLOTS must be received back at the Board of Elections by 5 P.M. on Friday, April 23. If an emergency arises (unexpected illness or business trip) after the Tuesday application deadline, call your county Board of Elections for information on emergency absentee voting. Proof of emergency may be required. An emergency application and ballot can be obtained and voted by 5 P.M. on Friday, April 23. Any disabled voter having questions regarding the accessibility of a polling place should consult the county Board of Elections.

WRITE-IN VOTING

For write-in voting information, check with the workers at your polling place before entering the voting booth.

ON-LINE VOTERS GUIDE

The Voters Guide and other useful information for voters can be found on the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania Homepage: http://pa.lwv.org. Candidates have posted more detailed information about their qualifications and their positions on issues of their choice on the League's Democracy Network web site at http://www.dnet.org.

POLICY & PROCEDURE FOR THE VOTERS GUIDE

One of the objectives of the LWV of Lebanon County is to provide citizens with information about the elective offices and candidates so that the citizen can make a more informed vote. To accomplish this objective, the League, in cooperation with several community businesses and county government and neighboring local Leagues, publishes a nonpartisan Voters Guide for the primary and general elections.

General Information

	The Voters Guide is nonpartisan. It does not support or oppose a party, faction or candidate. It provides information about the candidates and issues in an election to give voters a foundation for reaching decisions. The Voters Guide does not recommend a course of action to the voter.
	The Voters Guide includes all those candidates in contested races whose names will appear on the ballot. If space permits, all offices, both contested and uncontested, to be voted upon will appear in the Guide. Ballot questions are also included in the Guide. Due to time restraints, candidates that are waging write-in campaigns are not included in the Guide. The LWV of Lebanon County coordinates the publication of the Voters Guide with the staff of the Daily News and has sole editorial control over the contents of the Guide.
	About two months prior to the publication of the Guide, the League develops a publication schedule in consultation with the staff of the Daily News. The finalized schedule, along with a break out of publication costs, is put into a formal memorandum to the newspaper.
	After the filing deadline for the upcoming election, the League obtains the names and addresses of the local candidates that will be on the ballot. A letter requesting candidate information for the Guide is mailed to the appropriate candidates. The League also contacts the LWVPA for information about statewide candidates and offices as appropriate. Information about the election, polling places and other necessary elector information is obtained from the Director of Voter Registration and Elections for Lebanon County. Once the deadline for candidate information is passed, League members compile all the information that has been received into a standard format on a computer disk that can be used by the Daily News. The disk and candidate photographs are hand-delivered to the Daily News to assure a safe and timely arrival. League members review a draft of the Guide prior to publication with the staff of the newspaper. When the Guide is published, the newspaper is to print 500 additional copies of the Guide for distribution to area libraries.
	In accordance with the League’s nonpartisan policy, no League member actively involved in a political campaign or holding an official position with a political party or body participates in the development of a Voters Guide.
	When a candidate for elective office is "shared" with another League, for example State Senator or U.S. Representative, the LWV of Lebanon County will work with the appropriate local Leagues to obtain the information for the Voters Guide and assure that the candidate receives only one questionnaire.
	The guidelines and rules established by LWVUS and LWVPA for Voters Guide preparation and publication govern the actions of the LWV of Lebanon County in the publication of the local Voters Guide.

Candidates/Offices Featured in a Guide

Although the Guide includes all the candidates and offices on the ballot, due to space limitations the candidates in contested races are the ones from whom the League will request specific information. In a primary election, this means that candidates competing within a political party for a particular seat will be featured in the Guide. A candidate who has no opposition within the political party for an office in the primary election is considered to be in a non-contested race.

Space permitting, the names of candidates on the ballot for non-contested races will be listed in the Guide under the appropriate elective office.

Mailing to the Candidates

	The Voters Guide editor prepares and sends a cover letter, candidate questionnaire and photograph request form to the candidates, using the address provided by the Director of Voter Registration and Elections for Lebanon County. This mailing usually occurs within two weeks of the filing deadline.
	The deadline for returning information to the Voters Guide editor is generally set for two weeks after the mailing of the letter. If the Voters Guide editor has not received any material from a candidate by five days prior to the deadline, that candidate will be contacted by telephone to assure that the candidate did receive League’s request for information. In fairness to all candidates, the deadline will not be extended to a candidate that has failed to return their material in a timely fashion.
	At the present time, candidates cannot electronically submit their information to the Voters Guide editor.

Candidate Information in the Guide

The Guide will provide, for candidates in contested races, the following information as supplied by the candidate:

Name;
Municipality of candidate’s residence;
Candidate’s date of birth;
Candidate’s educational background;
Candidate’s occupation; and
Candidate’s statement of qualifications for office or reply to League question.

	If a candidate does not reply to the request for information, the candidate’s name and municipality of residence will appear in the Guide with the statement "Did Not Reply".
	The information supplied by the candidate will appear in the Guide as submitted. The League will not edit candidates’ information, correct spelling errors or spell out abbreviations.

Length of Candidate Response

Due to space and funding limitations for the Voters Guide and in fairness to all the candidates on the ballot, the amount of information about a particular candidate in the Guide has specific parameters. The League sets a word limit for the candidates’ responses. This limit applies to the information supplied by the candidate for educational background, occupation and statement of qualifications/reply to League question. The word limit established for a Guide will vary from election to election. It is based on the type of election, the number of statewide offices and candidates on the ballot, the number of local offices and candidates on the ballot and whether the ballot will contain questions for the voters.

The word count begins at the beginning of the candidate’s information with educational background and works forward to the candidate’s statement of qualifications for office/reply to League’s question. When the word limit is met the remainder of the candidate’s information is deleted. For the purposes of counting, the "connector" words of and/the/or are not included in the count. Abbreviations and numbers do count as words.

Candidate Questions

Depending upon the type of election (primary or general) and the offices on the ballot, League may ask a question of the candidates rather than requesting a statement of qualifications for office for publication in the Guide. To develop these questions, the League contacts various community groups and public-minded citizens for comments, pertinent community issues and concerns. However, the League Board develops the question that is asked of the candidates for a particular office. The League is solely responsible for this question.

Candidate Pictures

	Candidates featured in the Voters Guide are encouraged to submit pictures for publication. An arrangement to have a picture taken can be made by the candidates with the Daily News. There is no charge for this picture. Candidates are responsible for checking with the Daily News to assure that a picture is on file with the newspaper.
	Due to space limitations in the Guide, the League reserves the right not to use candidate pictures. In the event that a candidate’s photo is not used due to space limitations, all the candidate photos for that particular race are not used to assure fairness.
	If a candidate does not submit a photo for the Voters Guide, there is no statement of that in the Guide. The candidate’s information appears as submitted without an accompanying picture.

Order of Candidates and Offices in the Guide

	All candidates and all political parties on the ballot are included in the Voters Guide.
	The candidates for offices on the ballot are listed in the order in which they will appear on the ballot. The candidates of the President’s party or party of the Governor, depending upon the election, are listed first. Independent, third party or minority party candidates will be listed after the candidates for the two major political parties.
	The designation "incumbent" is not used for candidates in the Voters Guide.
	Candidates for judge, school director and justice of the peace may cross-file on an election ballot. Candidates who have cross-filed for an office will be listed in the Guide under the heading "Cross Filed" with their responses. Those candidates who have not cross-filed for that office will be listed under their party label. The Guide will contain an explanation of the term cross-filing to assist the voter.

Information about the Offices in the Guide

For each office that is featured in the Guide, the term of office and salary will be provided.

Write In Candidates

The Voters Guide does not include write-in candidates for offices due to time constraints.

Copyright

The material in the Voters Guide is covered by copyright through the LWVPA-CEF. The material cannot be altered or reprinted without the permission of the League.

References

	Lottick, Sally, VS/CS Director. "Making Your League Job Easier: Voter Service/Citizen Information." Philadelphia: LWVPA, 1978.
	LWVPA. "Portfolio Update 2001". March 2001. Harrisburg, PA: 226 Forster Street

Approval: 5/22/01