Well we're in the homestretch, after a year and a half of the endless campaigning, we're finally going to vote for President of the United States. Hooray! But wait, that's not all you get to vote on. There's the Senate, the House, PA Attorney General, PA Auditor General, PA Treasurer, State Assembly, State Senate, and those very long ballot questions. That is a lot to vote on and since this election cycle has been dominated by just the presidential candidates, its easy to forget that these other offices are on the ballot as well and are just as important. I'm not going to tell you who or what to vote for but I'll give you a list with a description of each office/candidate. However, I will tell you this; no matter what party or candidate you are affiliated with, get out and vote! Note: this list includes races that are contested, anyone running unopposed is not listed.

President of the United States (Federal)

The main course of the election. Who gets to run the show for 4-8 years? POTUS gets to shape the country's agenda in terms of which domestic bills and reforms gets passed and what kind of foreign policy track the country (and the world) should head towards.

Hillary Clinton (Democrat): She has 30 years of experience working in government ranging from her time as First Lady of Arkansas and the U.S., senator of New York, and Secretary of State. She plans to make college tuition debt free, expand the Affordable Care Act, raise taxes on the wealthy, combat climate change, introduce immigration and criminal justice reform, and is pro-choice. She also is in favor of regime change in Syria, installing a no-fly zone, and is open to accepting more Syrian refugees.

Donald Trump (Republican): The real estate businessman doesn't have political experience but that is his whole appeal. An outsider to Washington, he plans to cut taxes across the board, reduce regulation on businesses, repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, revise trade agreements like NAFTA and the TPP, establish a deportation force for undocumented residents, halt Syrian refugees incoming to the country, and build a wall on the southern border and make Mexico pay for it. He is also willing to work with Russia to take out ISIS and start making sure countries around the world start paying for U.S. protection.

Gary Johnson (Libertarian): The former Governor of New Mexico describes himself as socially liberal and fiscally conservative. He wants to simplify the tax code, is in favor of immigration and criminal justice reform, wants to end the war on drugs, legalize marijuana, wants to eliminate the Department of Education along with several other "unnecessary" federal agencies, repeal the Affordable Care Act, pro-LGBT and pro-choice, against gun control, against climate change legislation, and supports the Citizens United Case but is in favor of having companies disclose who they donate to and how much. He also promises a balanced federal budget and to cut spending on Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, the military, and end foreign interventionist wars.

Jill Stein (Green): A former physician, she wants to create a Green New Deal by creating millions of green energy jobs that would allow the country to be 100% dependent on renewable energy by 2030, is against nuclear energy, make college tuition free and cancel current student debt, increase taxes on the wealthy, is in favor of immigration and criminal justice reform, supports reparations for African-Americans, pro-LGBT and defend Native American land rights, wants to label and regulate all GMO foods, wants to replace the Affordable Care Act with a Single Payer system, and cut the the military budget by 50% and close the 700+ American bases around the world.

Things to think about: The next President will get to fill in the open Supreme Court Justice position. The Court is split between liberals and conservatives so the new appointment would shape the country's laws for the next generation. Basically, ask yourself if you liked the country's progress the last 8 years or not. Pennsylvania is a crucial state this election, so this vote definitely matters.

U.S. Congressional House of Representatives (Federal)

Elected Congressional officials get to introduce bills and can serve on House Committees which reviews bills and provides oversight on the Executive Branch.

1st District

Bob Brady (Democrat): The incumbent Brady supports giving more funding to public schools, supports legislation to help small businesses, is a Senior Member of the House Armed Service Committee, supports the DISCLOSE Act which would make corporations disclose who they give give campaign funds to, and holds a 100% rating from the NAACP and the AFL-CIO.

Deborah Williams (Republican): The former Republican leader of Philadelphia's 17th Ward and an ordained minister, she is pro-life, doesn't support mandatory minimums for drug sentencing, supports federal standards for education, supports federal regulation of greenhouse gases and supports the Affordable Care Act.

2nd District

Dwight Evans (Democrat): Supports reducing the national deficit without cutting funds to states, wants to install neighborhood financial centers to help local residents access affordable banking services, supports expanding affordable housing, and investing in public transit and public education.

James Jones (Republican): Served in the Vietnam War and as a business consultant and held a managerial position in Philadelphia's Public Housing Authority, he supports the Health Insurance Affordability Act which would reduce insurance premiums by 100%, wants lower taxes and less regulations for businesses, and supports all forms of energy and backed the Keystone XL pipeline.

U.S. Senate (Federal)

Senators get to review bills passed by the House as well as working with the Executive Branch to appoint positions like federal judges, military officials, officials of federal agencies, and ratify treaties.

Katie McGinty (Democrat): A Northeast Philly native and St. Joseph alum, she served as Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection Agency under former Governor Ed Rendell, served in the White House Council on Environmental Quality under former President Bill Clinton, former Chiefs of Staff under Governor Tom Wolf, and served on several private energy companies. This would be her first time serving in an elected office if she wins and supports equal pay for equal work, supports universal Pre-K and refinancing student loans, supports universal background checks for guns, closing the gun show loophole, wants to raise the minimum wage to $15, pro-choice and pro-LGBT, and supports fracking as long as it is closely regulated and taxed.

Pat Toomey (Republican): The incumbent, Toomey has served on the Senate for since 2011 and the House from 1999-2005, as well having worked in Wall Street. He serves as Chairman of Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection Subcommittee along with the Healthcare Subcommittee. He is pro-life and is open to installing penalties for doctors who perform abortions, wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act, wants to deregulate the financial service industry, is against government legislation to curb climate change, refused to reopen the government during the government shutdown in 2013, he stood up to the NRA and his Republican colleagues after the Sandy Hook Shooting and supports expanding background checks and participated in Senator Chris Murphy's filibuster, and also thinks the next President should get to appoint a Supreme Court Justice and not President Obama. Whether or not he will vote for Donald Trump is unclear.

Edward T. Clifford III (Libertarian): An accountant at a financial services firm, he wants to reduce federal regulations and spending, cut taxes, and is against any tax increases and funding for undeclared foreign wars.

Things to know: the Senate is currently Republican controlled but is hotly contested to flip Democrat. Whoever controls the Senate can either help or block the new President's agenda.

Pennsylvania Attorney General (State)

The top law enforcement agent in Pennsylvania who enforces state laws. The previous AG, Kathleen Kane, was convicted of leaking grand jury information to the press for political purposes. The new AG will not only work with Governor Tom Wolf (Democrat), but also in regaining the trust of the public for the office.

Josh Shapiro (Democrat): A former Montgomery County Commissioner and State Rep, he holds a law degree from Georgetown but has never worked on a case. He wants to tackle the heroin epidemic, hold financial companies and energy companies accountable, close loopholes for purchasing guns, is pro-choice, crackdown on college campus sexual assaults and rapes, reform the criminal justice system, and expand protection for LGBT communities so they don't face hate crimes or workplace discrimination.

John Rafferty (Republican): A former state senator, former PA Deputy Attorney General, served as Chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, and a Temple alum; he wants to create a Heroin Strike Force that would target mid to upper level drug dealers and expand rehab programs to those addicted, strengthen child protection laws and create a Child Predator Unit to crackdown on child predators, extend sentencing for arsonists, crackdown on multiple DUI offenders, and create a School Safety Task Force so that schools can prepare for the occurrence of a natural disaster, violent event, or a terrorist attack.

Pennsylvania Auditor General (State)

Like a spending watchdog, the Auditor General monitors how the State is using its funds and can conduct audits on state agencies and organizations that uses state funds.

Eugene A. DePasquale (Democrat): The incumbent since 2013, he wants to find ways to better fund public education and infrastructure, wants to conduct an audit on the State Environmental Agency so that energy companies don't influence it, and has done reports on untested rape kits, the PA's child abuse hotline, the Philadelphia Parking Authority, and charter schools. He claimed his office has saved the state $40 million annually because of his efforts.

John Brown (Republican): A former Northampton County Executive and Bangor Mayor, he wants to cut waste, fraud, and abuse in the state government and argues that he would be best to monitor the spending of a liberal governor.

Roy A. Minet (Libertarian): Holds a diverse career as an engineer, salesman, owning a beer distribution, and started a computer company. He wants to audit the State Assembly and save money everywhere.

John Sweeney (Green): Currently the township auditor of Falls Township in Wyoming County, he wants to combine the Department of Transportation and the Turnpike Commission and audit the Department of Environmental Protection.

Pennsylvania State Treasurer (State)

The head of the State's Treasury Department will manage the state's funds and finances.

Joe Torsella (Democrat): A former U.S. rep to the United Nations for Management and Reform, CEO of the National Constitution Center, and Chairman of the State Board of Education; he wants to create an open source data so residents across the state can view the state's finances similar to viewing your own bank statement to increase transparency and establish individual retirement and universal college savings accounts.

Otto Voit (Republican): A Penn State alum, he serves as President of the Keystone Dental Group which distributes dental products, served as a VP to the Muhlenberg School District Board of Directors and the treasurer of the Governing Board for the Pennsylvania School Board Association, and is a Desert Storm veteran. He wants to promote financial literacy for low income individuals and racial minorities, wants funding to aid those economically disadvantage through lottery and gambling revenues, help people collect unclaimed properties that belong to them in the state, and is the only Pennsylvanian running for office that endorsed Donald Trump.

James Babb (Libertarian): Currently serves as an advertising consultant from Montgomery County, he argues that taxation is theft and all of the money in the state should be returned to residents and that state funds that are spent should be taxes that residents agreed to.

Kristin Combs (Green): A teacher in the School District of Philadelphia and member of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, she plans to fight for better quality schools and public education funding.

Pennsylvania State Assembly (State)

Like the U.S. House of Representatives but for the state. Works closely with the Governor of Pennsylvania to pass state laws. The races listed below are contested, races that have candidates running unopposed or are expected to win are not listed. You can only vote in the races if these are your districts (if you live in the Northeast, you'll see these listed on your ballot).

170th House District

Matthew Darragh (Democrat): Previously worked in the Auditor General's office and served in a committee, he never served in elected office but plans to increase funding for public education, wants legislation for equal pay for equal work, is pro-choice, strengthen union rights, and reduce taxes for senior citizens.

Martina White (Republican): The incumbent and one of the youngest state reps in office, she wants to fight for funding for public education, a fair tax policy, lessen regulations on businesses, proposed a bill that passed in the Assembly that would temporarily prevent cities from releasing the names of a police officer when they shoot a civilian to protect their identity until a proper investigation has been conducted, and introduced a bill that would end Philadelphia's status as a sanctuary city.

172nd House District

Kevin Boyle (Democrat): The incumbent, he wants to raise the minimum wage, strengthen unions, introduced a bill that would extend hate crimes protection to the LGBT community, supports stricter background checks when buying firearms, and supports keeping the identity of police officers involved in shootings temporarily secret.

Jim Pio (Republican): A former financial consultant and committee person,he wants to ensure adequate school funding, reduce class sizes, bring back manufacturing jobs, increase the statute of limitations for rape, and supports mandatory jail time for felons in possession of a firearm.

177th House District

Joe Hohenstein (Democrat): A former immigration lawyer, he supports Philadelphia's status as a sanctuary city, wants to raise the minimum wage to $15/hr, supports fair funding for public schools, wants more accountability for charter schools, wants to replace the School Reform Commission, ban assault weapons, expand background checks and close the gun show loophole, and is for levying a tax on oil drillers.

John Taylor (Republican): The incumbent and current Chairman of the House Transportation Committee, he helped move the state to privatize liquor sales, helped lead the fight against OxyContin abuse, is a part of a bipartisan group that monitors and reduce school violence, supported legislation to reduce taxes for residents who own a business that is also their resident, and supports ending Philadelphia's sanctuary city status. He is reluctantly voting for Donald Trump and is regarded as a moderate with a record of bipartisanship, earning the respect of many city Democrats.

Pennsylvania State Senate (State)

Like the U.S. Senate but for the state. Works with the Assembly and Governor to pass state laws. Depending on what district/ward you live in, you will have a different candidate to vote on than someone living in another part of the city/state. There is only one contested race, the rest are running unopposed. You can only vote for the listed races if you live in that district (looking at you Northeast).

5th District

John Sabatina (Democrat): The incumbent, he wants to provide all day Pre-K, debt free community college tuition, protect the identity of police officers, more security for women who filed for Protection From Abuse, and is pro-choice.

Ross Feinberg (Republican): Previously served as an option trader and in the U.S. Navy, he wants to bring jobs back in the manufacturing sector that were lost to Mexico, and wants to "Make the Great Northeast Great Again."

Ballot Questions (State and City)

A simple yes or no, the first question is in regards to the State of Pennsylvania and the second question is in regards to the City of Philadelphia.

Question 1: Shall the Pennsylvania Constitution be amended to require that justices of the Supreme Court, judges, and magisterial district judges be retired on the last day of the calendar year in which they attain the age of 75 years?

Pennsylvania's Supreme Court is different than the U.S. Supreme Court. The State Supreme Court justices runs for office like any other political office and must retire at some point.The current retirement age for State Supreme Court justices is 70 years old and this questions is asking if the retirement age should be extended 5 more years. Things to think about: this question is worded very poorly probably purposely to confuse voters to vote yes, whether or not you want more opportunities for younger judges, the options to get rid of a "bad" judge (Porngate scandal), and the current political makeup of the PA Supreme Court which is mostly occupied by Democrats.

Question 2: Should the City of Philadelphia borrow ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY-FOUR MILLION THREE HUNDRED THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS ($184,303,000.00) to be spent for and toward capital purposes as follows: Transit; Streets and Sanitation; Municipal Buildings; Parks, Recreation and Museums; and Economic and Community Development?

Simple and straightforward, should the city take on more debt by borrowing money to spend on public resources? Things to think about: the city is already in debt and our credit isn't that great, increasing debt is against the city's debt management policy, there isn't a lot of wiggle room in the city budget to invest in public resources so borrowing seems to be the only way to see improvements in the things mentioned.

Other information

Polls are open from 7 AM- 8 PM and you can find your voting location here. PA doesn't require voter ID but if you are a first time voter you should bring one with you just in case. You can also get a free Uber and Lyft ride courtesy of the Clinton PAC if you use the promo code VOTEPA.