{"id":19557,"date":"2025-10-30T09:19:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T09:19:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/19557\/"},"modified":"2025-10-30T09:19:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T09:19:07","slug":"voter-guide-for-lower-merion-pa-in-2025-general-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/19557\/","title":{"rendered":"Voter guide for Lower Merion, Pa., in 2025 general election"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lower Merion<\/a> has an upcoming election that will help decide everything from the direction of the state\u2019s Supreme Court to who will sit on the school board. <\/p>\n

To make Election Day easier, whether voting at the polls or by mail, here are the important points for Lower Merion voters to remember.<\/p>\n

This election will decide whether three of the state\u2019s Supreme Court justices, who decide cases with lasting impact on Pennsylvanians, will keep their jobs for the next decade.<\/p>\n

Seats on the Superior and Commonwealth Courts, which hear cases before they reach the state Supreme Court, are also on the ballot.<\/p>\n

On the local level, Lower Merion voters will elect four board members to the Lower Merion School District\u2019s board of directors \u2014 a hotly contentious race<\/a> \u2014 as well as other municipal administrative positions, like the jury commissioner, who oversees the county\u2019s jury selection pool, and the township tax collector.<\/p>\n

\"AA Lower Merion school board meeting about a Cultural Heritage Night at Gladwyne Elementary School.Read more<\/a>Steven M. Falk \/ Staff Photographer \/ Steven M. Falk \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

The Lower Merion School District board of directors not only sets the tone for the district\u2019s culture and education policies, but also approves its annual budget and hires and evaluates the district superintendent. Board members serve four-year terms.<\/p>\n

This is one of the hotly contested races<\/a>; earlier this year the primary election surfaced discussions of antisemitism<\/a> and complaints over controversial election mailers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The four Democratic school board candidates have a joint campaign website at electlmsd.com<\/a> outlining their plans. Incumbents Anna Shurak and Kerry Sautner, the latter of whom is the current board chair, are joined by newcomers Jennifer Rivera and Juanita Kerber. The four Democratic candidates say<\/a> they have fought to strengthen public education, uphold equity, and ensure transparency, and that \u201cpolitical groups are trying to roll back\u201d their progress.<\/p>\n

Three of the Republican school board candidates \u2014 Talia Nissim, Deena Pack, and Omer Dekel \u2014 have a joint campaign website at togetherlmsd.com<\/a>. Jacob Rudolph, a 2025 graduate of Harriton High School, is the fourth Republican candidate whose campaign site can be found at jacobforlmsd.com<\/a>. During the primary, Rudolph ran on a slate with the three Together LMSD candidates, who prioritized transparency and fighting antisemitism in the school district. Rudolph recently broke off from the slate after Nissim, Pack, and Dekel were endorsed by the 1776 Project PAC, a conservative political action committee that works to get \u201cun-woke school board members\u201d elected.<\/p>\n

Vote for up to four candidates.<\/p>\n

Democrats<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Jennifer Louise Rivera<\/p>\n

Juanita James Kerber<\/p>\n

Kerry Sautner<\/p>\n

Anna Shurak<\/p>\n

Republican:<\/p>\n

Jacob Rudolph<\/p>\n

Deena Pack<\/p>\n

Talia Nissim<\/p>\n

Omer Dekel<\/p>\n

Pennsylvania\u2019s Court of Common Pleas is broken up into 60 judicial districts, with Montgomery County<\/a> located in the 38th District. These are the courts handling general trials for civil and criminal cases, as well as appeals from lower courts. These judges serve 10-year terms, after which they are up for retention.<\/p>\n

Vote for up to three candidates, who will appear on the ballot as both Democrats and Republicans<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Voters will also decide whether to retain three judges serving on the Court of Common Pleas\u2019 38th District.<\/p>\n

Vote for no more than three candidates:<\/p>\n

\u201cYes\u201d or \u201cno\u201d retention vote:<\/p>\n

\"CanvassersCanvassers at the entrance to the Lower Merion School District administration building on the primary election day.Read more<\/a>Denali Sagner \/ Staff<\/p>\n

Two jury commissioners, from different political parties, oversee the county\u2019s jury selection and management process. They are responsible for ensuring there is a continual pool of fair and impartial jurors for trials heard in Montgomery County. Vote for up to one candidate. Commissioners serve a four-year term.<\/p>\n

Democrat:<\/p>\n

Republican:<\/p>\n

Judge of election and inspector of election<\/p>\n

These two positions manage local elections on the ground level, from opening and closing polls to verifying voter registration and overseeing voting machines, among other duties. Each voting precinct has its own judge and inspector of election, who are elected to four-year terms. Candidates running for this office must live in the voting precinct.<\/p>\n

Each of Lower Merion\u2019s 43 voting precincts will have its own candidates running for office. To find your precinct\u2019s candidates, look up your voting precinct\u2019s sample ballot on Montgomery County\u2019s voter services webpage at montgomerycountypa.gov\/753\/Voter-Services<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Not sure of your precinct? Look it up at pavoterservices.pa.gov<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The township tax collector oversees the collection of all taxes within the township, such as local real estate, school, and earned income taxes. This office is responsible for keeping records and providing reports when requested. Tax collectors are elected on four-year terms.<\/p>\n

Jana Lunger is running unopposed and will appear as both Democrat and Republican on the ballot.<\/p>\n

\"JusticesJustices David Wecht, Christine Donohue and Kevin Dougherty sit onstage during a fireside chat featuring the three justices of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court who are on the November retention ballot at Central High School on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025 in Philadelphia. The conversation was moderated by Cherri Gregg, co-host of Studio 2 on WHYY, and presented by the Committee of Seventy, Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, and the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania.Read more<\/a>Monica Herndon \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

One of the most lasting votes Lower Merion residents will cast on Nov. 4 will be whether to retain three of the state\u2019s Supreme Court justices for another 10-year term.<\/p>\n

Voting \u201cyes\u201d will extend their term. Voting \u201cno\u201d will end their term.<\/p>\n

If voters elect not to extend the justices\u2019 terms, vacancies would be created, which would allow Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro<\/a> to nominate new justices to the state Supreme Court. However, new appointees would need to be approved by a Republican-controlled Senate.<\/p>\n

Read a detailed breakdown of the three Supreme Court justices \u2014 Christine Donohue, Kevin M. Dougherty, and David Wecht \u2014 in The Inquirer\u2019s Philadelphia election guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00bb READ MORE: Philly\u2019s guide to the Nov. 4 election<\/a><\/p>\n

An opening on Pennsylvania\u2019s Superior Court was created after Dan McCaffery was elected to the state Supreme Court in 2023. Voters will decide who will fill that vacancy and join 14 other judges in presiding over criminal and civil cases, before they can be taken to the Supreme Court. These judges serve 10-year terms, after which they are up for retention. Vote for up to one candidate.<\/p>\n

Voters will also be asked if they want to retain Alice Beck Dubow on the Superior Court.<\/p>\n

Read a breakdown of the candidates in The Inquirer\u2019s Philadelphia election guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Democrat:<\/p>\n

Republican:<\/p>\n

Liberal:<\/p>\n

\u201cYes\u201d or \u201cno\u201d retention vote:<\/p>\n

\u00bb READ MORE: Philly\u2019s guide to the Nov. 4 election<\/a><\/p>\n

\"TheThe Pennsylvania Judicial Center, home to the Commonwealth Court, is pictured on Feb. 21, 2023, in Harrisburg.Read more<\/a>Matt Rourke \/ AP<\/p>\n

An opening on the Commonwealth Court was created after Ellen Ceisler retired this year. Voters will decide who will fill the vacancy on this state court, which oversees state and local government cases and regulatory agencies. These judges serve 10-year terms, after which they are up for retention. Vote for up to one candidate. <\/p>\n

Voters will also be asked whether to retain Michael H. Wojcik for another term.<\/p>\n

Democrat:<\/p>\n

Republican:<\/p>\n

\u201cYes\u201d or \u201cno\u201d retention vote:<\/p>\n

Staff writer Denali Sagner contributed to this article.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lower Merion has an upcoming election that will help decide everything from the direction of the state\u2019s Supreme…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19558,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[183,185,184,186,13665],"class_list":["post-19557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-lower-merion","tag-lower-merion","tag-lower-merion-headlines","tag-lower-merion-news","tag-lower-merion-township","tag-lower-merion-election-school-board-voter-guide"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19557"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19557\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}