From Jason Kelce to Josh Shapiro: Philly’s Write-In Votes for President
Plus, the unbearable shame of $8 Sixers tickets. And this team wants a new arena?!
Josh Shapiro (Getty Images) and Jesus Christ (public domain), both of whom received write-in votes for President of the United States in Philadelphia
Check phillymag.com each morning Monday through Thursday for the latest edition of Philly Today. And if you have a news tip for our hardworking Philly Mag reporters, please direct it here. You can also use that form to send us reader mail. We love reader mail!
From Jason Kelce to Josh Shapiro: Philly’s Write-In Votes for President
Yes, we learned the basic results of the presidential election a month ago today. But it was just on Thursday morning that the Philadelphia City Commissioners office released the race’s write-in votes, which are always a bit fun and interesting to look at.
The biggest write-in vote getter in Philadelphia was socialist theologian Claudia De la Cruz, with 190 votes. But she picked up another 146 votes when her name was combined with running mate Karina Garcia’s. In second place, activist and scholar Cornel West, who came in at 173 votes but who garnered another 61 with running mate Melina Abdullah. Nikki Haley, with 91 votes, actually did better than health, er, nut Robert F. Kennedy Jr., for whom 81 write-in votes were cast.
Unsurprisingly, Israel and Gaza figured into the write-in vote results. Forty-four people wrote in “Free Palestine,” 39 wrote in “Uncommitted,” and there were a handful of votes each for “Gaza,” “Free Gaza,” and “Ceasefire.”
A selection of other write-in votes from Philadelphia:
- Jesus Christ, 19
- Josh Shapiro, 18
- Jesus, 17
- Bernie Sanders, 17
- None of the Above, 15
- Joe Biden, 10
- Mitt Romney, 9
- Mike Pence, 9
- God, 8
- Mickey Mouse, 7
- Ron Desantis, 6
- Vermin Supreme, 5
- Ron Paul, 5
- Kanye West, 5
- JD Vance, 5
- Condoleezza Rice, 5
- Michelle Obama, 4
- Liz Cheney, 4
- Lebron James, 4
- Jason Kelce, 4
- Anyone Else, 4
- Hillary Clinton, 4
- Taylor Swift, 2
- Saquan Barkley, 2
- Jalen Hurts, 2
- Gritty, 2
- Get Better Candidates, 2
- Donald Duck, 2
Also, I feel it important to note that, since we all know “bad things happen in Philadelphia,” I decided to test the integrity of our election system by writing in “Eddie Van Halen” (sorry, I’m a child of the ’80s) for certain uncontested races. And I am happy to report that those votes were, in fact, recorded. Democracy is safe, my friends.
Now Those Are Some Old Newlyweds!
A local couple just earned a Guinness World Record for being the world’s oldest newlyweds. It turns out that the couple, who have a combined age of 202, attended Penn at the same time but didn’t know each other.
By the Numbers
$11,000: Value of sunglasses stolen from a store at the King of Prussia Mall. And all this time, I’ve been buying my sunglasses from Dollar Tree. Gotta up my game!
9: Wawa stores in Philadelphia proper that will have closed since 2020 once the one at 16th and Ranstead streets closes any day now. Eight of those stores were in Center City. Sure, Rittenhouse Square is nice and all, but can you get a meatball Shorti there at 3 a.m.? No. So…
$8: What a ticket will cost you to see the Sixers play the Orlando Magic at Wells Fargo Center on Friday. I’ve actually heard stories about very last-minute tickets (like an hour before tipoff) going for just a buck. And they want a new arena?!
Local Talent
Congrats to all the Philly-area people who just landed on the new Forbes 30 Under 30 lists. How many can you pick out?
