Push for Voter Registration Underway in Pennsylvania as Election Approaches

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A coast-to-coast, bipartisan effort to get voters ready for the November elections is underway right now.

Candidates, celebrities, tech companies, and city and state leaders are all taking part in the big push this National Voter Registration Day, to get Americans to cast their ballots this November.

Pennsylvania is a key battleground state.

You can expect both presidential candidates to campaign hard here in the next month and a half.

City Commissioner Omar Sabir was on site at the Forman Mills Grand Opening in North Philadelphia where a voter registration drive broke out the bells and whistles to attract people and sign them up to vote if unregistered.

VOTE 2020: Election Resources for the Tri-State area

"This is an area that typically doesn't participate in the election process, like Center City, like Chestnut Hill, so we have to bring the resources to the community," he said.

Desiree Atkins with Forman Mills said the drive is important because some find the process intimidating,

"So that's kind of where we are stepping in. A lot of organizations are here to help."

An Action News analysis by our data team found since 2016 in Pennsylvania, Republicans have added more than 104,000 net registered voters than Democrats.

But, Democrats still maintain a voter edge in the state.

Currently, there are more than 733,000 more Democrats registered than Republicans.

Other voters, which account for more than 1.2 million voters are either affiliated with a third party or unaffiliated entirely, are considered up for grabs.

"Democrats have increased their edge in places like the Philadelphia suburbs. And the Republicans, obviously in the rural and small towns consistent with what we've seen in the past couple of election cycles," said Dr. Terry Madonna with Franklin and Marshall University.

Madonna, who is the director of the Center of Politics and Public Affairs said Pennsylvania could be the tipping point to the election.

"Folks understand that Pennsylvania is a critical battleground, and might well determine which candidate wins the presidency."