For the upcoming presidential primary, some Philadelphia Jews worry they may have to sacrifice their civic duties for their religious ones.
Pennsylvania, as well as Delaware, Rhode Island and Maryland, is scheduled to hold its 2024 presidential primary elections on April 23, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, which is the first day of Passover, JTA.org reported.
The first two and last two days of Passover are all yom tov, festival days, which, according to Jewish law, prohibit the use of technology or writing, preventing halachically observant Jews from driving to the polls or using voting machines to cast their ballots.
Rabbi Yochonon Goldman of B’nai Abraham Chabad in Center City said the conflict would deter some Jews from visiting the polls.
“I’m sure there are a lot of observant Jews who would not be able to participate in voting,” he said.
“It’s not a good look to schedule a primary or an election on a major holiday, whether it’s a Jewish holiday, or some other holiday,” added Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia Director, Government Affairs Robin Schatz.
Though Schatz doesn’t believe the decision to schedule the primary on Passover was intentional or antisemitic, it’s indicative of a lack of knowledge about Jewish holidays and culture.
“Most people who are not Jewish don’t understand, necessarily, the importance of Pesach. That’s one of the big four [along with Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Shavuot],” Schatz said.
Pennsylvania’s administration, including Jewish Gov. Josh Shapiro, is aware of the conflict, said Hank Butler, executive director of the Pennsylvania Jewish Coalition.
Leaders across political parties and religions, including the Catholic Conference, have reached out to Butler asking how they could help in efforts to change the primary’s date.
“This good news is, we have over a year to figure this out,” Butler said.
Jewish Democratic state Rep. Jared Solomon, who represents Philadelphia, has helped introduce a bill to move the 2024 presidential primary up to March, though the date change has nothing to do with Passover.
An argument to move the primary’s date for religious reasons likely wouldn’t gain much traction because Pennsylvania offers mail-in ballots for residents to vote remotely before election day.
“I understand people’s feelings about being able to go to the polls, except that the reality is nobody who wants to vote will be disenfranchised,” Schatz said.
Some legislators have pushed to move up Pennsylvania’s primary date to give the commonwealth greater influence in the election, as well as bring in additional revenue. The push to move the primary has existed since Gov Ed Rendell’s tenure, according to Solomon.
“We’ve been pivotal in choosing the makeup both for the U.S. Senate, and the presidential fortunes of many candidates have relied upon Pennsylvania,” Solomon said. “So we make ourselves even larger if we move that date a month back.”
An earlier primary would mean that presidential candidates would spend more time interacting specifically with Pennsylvanians. Additional news coverage in the commonwealth would mean more press affiliates and campaign staff staying in Pennsylvania, which would increase revenue, Solomon said.
The bill will enter a newly formed committee in the House soon, with a companion piece entering the Senate. Solomon said additional bills were introduced that would increase voting accessibility, such as automatic and same-day voter registration. One bill, which proposes two weeks of in-person early voting, would eliminate future concerns of election days falling on holidays, Solomon argues.
“The goal, of course, is that at every time, whether it’s mail-in voting or in-person voting, we want to make sure that everyone is able to access the ballot,” he said.
If a bill to change the primary date does not pass before the election, organizations such as the Jewish Federation will increase messaging and create a campaign educating Jewish Philadelphians on how to register to vote and vote by mail for the 2024 primary election.
“We’re preparing,” Schatz said. ■