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Hi John,
Welcome to the latest New PA Project Education Fund (NPPEF) newsletter!
As a voting rights organization, our mission is to provide current, accurate, and accessible information about the importance of voting in every election.
Pennsylvanians vote every year, twice a year. In 2025, we will vote in local, municipal and judicial elections.
Here is a list of all the judges up for retention elections [[link removed]] this year.
Thank you for doing your part to stay informed and engaged!
Social Media of the Week
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#BlackHistoryMonth [[link removed]]
This week we highlight a post by USA Swimming that takes a look back on the desegregation of pools in America. [[link removed]]
Let's not forget how in the 1950 and 1960's, towns across this nation CLOSED their public pools rather than desegregate them.
Pennsylvania was not the exception. Last summer, Next Pittsburgh published an article [[link removed]] describing "Pittsburgh's brand of apartheid." They wrote:
“'It was one of the early times that Black Pittsburghers really challenged segregation,' says Jessica Klanderud, a Berea College history professor who wrote 'Struggle for the Street: Social Networks and the Struggle for Civil Rights in Pittsburgh,' a book about civil unrest in the city.”
SHARE ON INSTAGRAM [[link removed]]
ELECTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES
It has been just over a month since the new administration took office, and PA residents have been feeling the consequences. Here's how the actions of the new administration are impacting PA residents and how some folks are taking action to make their voices heard!
On President's day, people gathered in different cities across the Commonwealth [[link removed]] to demonstrate their discontent.
Meanwhile, park employees in Gettysburg and other parts of Pennsylvania (Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Independence National Historic Park in Philadelphia) have lost their jobs due to the funding freeze. [[link removed]]
PA farmers are also feeling the consequences. The Post Gazette highlights the story of Taproot Farm in Berks County. The farm has 15 employees who work via the H-2A visa program, which allows people from outside the United States to legally work on farms and ranches and had applied for four more will have to make do without the new workers. [[link removed]]
And while two prisons will close in the state, Philadelphia's Federal Detention Center has started housing immigrants who were recently detained by agents with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE). [[link removed]]
This year is also an election year, and voting in local, municipal and judicial elections, sets the stage to the top of the ticket elections in the future, so get involved, and vote!
REGISTER TO VOTE OR CHECK YOUR REGISTRATION [[link removed]]
RECENT EVENTS
People across PA have come out to learn Why Courts Matter. Here are two events from the past week!
On Thursday, February 27th Why Courts Matter - Pennsylvania , and the affiliated organization New Pennsylvania Project hosted their third Why Court Matter town hall.
[[link removed]] Guest speakers were our founding CEO, Kadida Kenner, and Quentin Mansfield, democracy project coordinator for NPP.
They talked about the importance of our federal courts and the role elected officials, such as our U.S Senators, play in nominating and confirming federal judges for lifetime appointments.
Watch the recording here [[link removed]]
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On February 24th, founding CEO Kadida Kenner, gave a presentation for Social Justice Indivisible , in Montgomery county. It focused on the importance of state and federal courts, how they impact our daily lives and what we can do to protect their independence.
[[link removed]] #CourtsMatter
Judge largely blocks Trump's executive orders ending federal support for DEI programs [[link removed]]
“A federal judge on Friday largely blocked sweeping executive orders from President Donald Trump that seek to end government support for programs promoting diversity, equity and inclusion. U.S. District Judge Adam Abelson in Baltimore granted a preliminary injunction blocking the administration from terminating or changing federal contracts they consider equity-related.”
Court blocks Arizona’s laws requiring proof of citizenship to vote for president [[link removed]]
"Two Arizona laws that restrict voting by people who don’t prove their U.S. citizenship are “unlawful measures of voter suppression,” the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled. The appeals court on Tuesday upheld a 2023 decision from the U.S. District Court of Arizona [[link removed]] that found many provisions of two 2022 Republican-backed laws unconstitutional ."
Wisconsin Supreme Court race could shape the future of election law [[link removed]] [[link removed]]
" With years of continued gridlock between the Republican-controlled Legislature and Democratic governor, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has become the arbiter over some of the most heated election rule debates — from redistricting and drop boxes [[link removed]] to the status of the state’s top election official [[link removed]] . That’s what makes April’s Supreme Court election a race to watch. It features two candidates with a stark ideological divide, competing for the seat of a retiring liberal justice and the chance to secure a majority in the current 4-3 liberal court. And it could determine how voters cast ballots in elections for years to come ."
[[link removed]] Special elections for voters in the 35th Legislative District (parts of Allegheny County) and the 36th Senatorial District (Lancaster County) will be held on March 25, 2025.
More information here. [[link removed]]
News You Can Use
Social Security Administration could cut up to half of its workforce [[link removed]]
"It’s unclear how the layoffs will directly impact the benefits of the 72.5 million Social Security beneficiaries, which include retirees and children who receive retirement and disability benefits. However, advocates and Democratic lawmakers warn that layoffs will reduce the agency’s ability to serve recipients in a timely manner. Some say cuts to the workforce are, in effect, a cut in benefits."
How Donald Trump’s cuts to security agencies would affect Pa. citizens [How Donald Trump’s cuts to security [link removed] affect Pa. citizens]
"When Election Day bomb threats were received in key swing states last November, Pennsylvania’s top elections officials were ready, thanks to warnings from an arm of the Department of Homeland Security... Now, Schmidt is waiting to learn whether the federal agency will be shuttered. The work of CISA’s Elections Security and Resilience Division has been paused by the Trump administration at least until early March pending a review of the agency’s work."
Gov. Shapiro says the Trump administration has unfrozen billions in grants and loans [[link removed]]
"More than $2 billion in federal funding that the Shapiro administration had identified as either frozen or held up by an unspecified review was now accessible to state agencies. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Monday that President Donald Trump ’s administration has freed up billions in federal aid that the Democrat had accused it of withholding illegally and unconstitutionally."
NPPEF on the Ground
[[link removed]] Nothing makes us happier than knowing we are helping our communities play their part in the electoral system.
Here you can see a screenshot from a call between one of our canvassers and a first time registrant after they received their voter's card in the mail.
We will also follow up with them to make sure they turn up at the polls this year!
As the weather starts to gets nicer, we are excited to continue with our mission to make civic education as accessible as possible.
Our team is helping folks register to vote while at events, the local YMCA or while running errands at other places.
Philadelphia County
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Civic education at a drive!
Dauphin County
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Camp Curtin YMCA and uptown Harrisburg.
Allegheny County
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Registering both customers and employees to vote at local businesses in Glassport and Pittsburgh.
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Ramadan Mubarak!⁠
We wish those who celebrate a blessed Ramadan.⁠
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We stand in solidarity with those observing this holy month and appreciate the shared values that unite us all.⁠
[[link removed]] Since 2021, NPPEF, alongside the affiliated New Pennsylvania Project, assisted 48,000 Pennsylvanians in registering to vote and worked to mobilize voters to ensure their voices are heard.
Now, we want to ensure you feel informed and happy with our impact.
Please take a few minutes to help us improve our work and tell us what issues you care most about this year.
Fill out our survey [[link removed]]
Super voters vote twice a year, every year !
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Last day to register to vote: Monday, May 5, 2025
Primary Election: Tuesday, May 20, 2025
Last day to register to vote for the General Election: Monday, October 20, 2025
Last day to request mail-in ballot: Tuesday, October 28, 2025
General Election: Tuesday, November 4, 2025
Important Links: Voter Hotlines:
PA Department of State Website [vote.pa.gov] Voter Protection Hotline: 1-866-OUR-VOTE
Upcoming elections [[link removed]] DOS PA Voter Hotline: 1-877-VOTESPA
Mail-in and Absentee Ballot [[link removed]] Spanish/English Hotline: 1-866-VE-Y-VOTA
Fact-Checking Election Claims [[link removed]] Asian Languages Hotline: 1-888-API-VOTE
Arabic/English Hotline: 1-844-YALLA-US
Paid for by the New PA Project Education Fund
New PA Project Education Fund
PO Box 453
West Chester, PA 19381
United States
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