Philly voters approve both charter changes. Here's how each Council district voted

Philadelphia voters approved both changes to the Home Rule Charter on Tuesday by wide margins, according to unofficial results posted by the Philadelphia City Commissioners, last updated at 10:25 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4, with 1,694 of 1,703 divisions reporting (ballot question results). The results are not final. The commissioners begin the official count on Friday, and provisional ballots had not yet been added.

The two questions change how the city awards some contracts and make the city's arts office a permanent part of government. Both started as City Council legislation, and both passed Council without a "no" vote.

The unofficial count

| Question | Yes | No | Yes share | |---|---|---|---| | 1: small and local business contracting | 345,410 | 92,954 | 78.8% | | 2: Creative Philadelphia | 368,051 | 72,070 | 83.6% |

Source: City Commissioners, 10:25 a.m. Nov. 4. Percentages are our math from those counts.

About 480,000 ballots were cast in the city, so roughly 42,000 voters skipped Question 1 and about 40,000 skipped Question 2. The Inquirer reported the same outcome Wednesday morning, as did PhillyVoice and WHYY. PhillyVoice's figures came from an earlier update, so they are slightly lower.

What our records add: the vote in each Council district

The commissioners report results by voting division. We matched each of the city's 1,703 divisions to the Council district it falls in, using the city's published division and 2024 Council district boundaries, and added up the votes. Each division was assigned by its center point, so treat these as close estimates, not official district totals.

| District | Member | Q1 yes | Q2 yes | |---|---|---|---| | 1 | Mark Squilla | 74.5% | 84.3% | | 2 | Kenyatta Johnson | 74.7% | 81.6% | | 3 | Jamie Gauthier | 79.4% | 91.4% | | 4 | Curtis Jones Jr. | 82.7% | 86.0% | | 5 | Jeffery Young Jr. | 82.2% | 88.8% | | 6 | Mike Driscoll | 69.8% | 68.2% | | 7 | Quetcy Lozada | 84.2% | 87.6% | | 8 | Cindy Bass | 85.3% | 89.6% | | 9 | Anthony Phillips | 87.9% | 88.8% | | 10 | Brian J. O'Neill | 65.4% | 62.8% |

A few things stand out:

• Every district said yes to both. So did every one of the city's 66 wards. The closest ward on Question 1 was the 30th, at 58.8% yes. On Question 2 it was the 66th, in the Far Northeast, at 58.3%.
• The Northeast was the least enthusiastic. The 10th and 6th districts gave both questions their lowest margins, and they were the only districts where the arts question did worse than the contracting question.
• The contracting question did best in North and Northwest Philadelphia. The 9th District gave it 87.9%, the 8th 85.3%.
• Mail voters were a little more supportive. Among mail ballots counted so far, 81.1% voted yes on Question 1 and 84.0% on Question 2.

How the questions got here

Question 1 came from Council President Kenyatta Johnson, introduced on his behalf by Majority Leader Katherine Gilmore Richardson. Council adopted the charter text, Resolution 260467, on June 4, the same day it passed the bill putting it on the ballot, Bill 260457, 16-0. A charter change needs a resolution backed by two-thirds of Council's elected members, according to the resolution's own text (PDF).

Question 2 came from at-large member Isaiah Thomas, with Anthony Phillips, Kendra Brooks, Quetcy Lozada and Rue Landau. Bill 260264-A passed 17-0 on June 11. Mayor Cherelle L. Parker signed both ballot bills June 23.

Our earlier explainers cover the contracting question and the arts office question. Separate stories today cover what each change does next.

What's next

• Friday, Nov. 6: The commissioners start the official count (canvass notice). Provisional ballots and late military and overseas ballots are added during this process.
• After certification: With both questions passing by more than 250,000 votes each, the remaining ballots can't change the outcome. We will report the certified totals.
• Nov. 12: Council's first session after the election.