Although Tuesday’s general election in Philadelphia lacks the draw of a national candidate and the city’s most high-profile races — City Controller and District Attorney — are all but settled, get out the vote efforts are persisting across the region.
Organizations like Philadelphia’s branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, for example, wrestled with off-year voter apathy using a clear and concise message — November’s election is consequential for the city’s Muslim community. Dr. Ahmet Tekelioglu, CAIR’s director of outreach and education, noted that citywide races impact issues such as inclusion and equity concerns in schools, zoning permits for new mosque construction, and, perhaps most importantly, criminal justice matters, many of which disadvantage Muslim Americans.
