City Commissioners Chairwoman Lisa Deeley Announces Bid for Re-election

CITY COMMISSIONERS CHAIR LISA DEELEY ANNOUNCES SHE WILL RUN FOR RE-ELECTION

Official Who Led Accurate and Fair Elections in Philadelphia Through Tumultuous 2020 and 2022 Campaigns Will Seek a Third Term in Office

Philadelphia, February 15, 2023 – Lisa Deeley, who as Chair of the City Commissioners led the
fight to uphold fair and free elections in Philadelphia during the bitterly partisan and polarized
2020 and 2022 campaigns, announced today that she will seek a third term in office.

Her decision was communicated in a letter submitted earlier today to Court of Common Pleas
President Judge Idee C. Fox.

As Commissioner Chair, Deeley helped implement the historic changes to Pennsylvania’s
elections law that sparked a massive increase in mail-in voting during the height of the COVID
pandemic in 2020 – a law that put Philadelphia in the national spotlight during the bitter 2020
Presidential campaign as the Commissioners worked around the clock to complete the vote count
that ultimately confirmed President Joe Biden’s victory in Pennsylvania, and nationally. While
the world watched as protesters attempted to intimidate and threaten the Commissioners and the
dedicated City employees who counted more than 374,000 mail ballots (plus nearly 400,000
machine ballots) in 2020, Deeley steadfastly defended the process and the Commissioners
delivered fair and accurate Philadelphia election results that were certified by state election
officials and affirmed by multiple audits and several occasions by federal and state courts.

“It has been the honor of my life to lead the City Commissioners during two of the most
consequential elections in the City’s history,” Deeley said. “Republican and Democrat, we
pulled together to implement Act 77, which authorized an unprecedented expansion in mail
balloting. And while the whole watched, we worked around the clock to count the ballots and
deliver fair and accurate elections for our fellow Philadelphians.

“I am very, very proud of the work that we have done, and I am running again because I want to
finish the job that we started,” Deeley said, “the job of completing the modernization of the
voting process citywide and ensuring that all of our citizens have the opportunity to exercise the
right to vote.”

Dedicated to expanding voting access for all Philadelphia citizens, Deeley was first elected to a
four-year term in November 2016. A year later, her fellow Commissioners elected her as Chair.
During her tenure, in addition to implementing the historic changes brought on by Act 77, the

Commissioners successfully led the purchase and installation of 3,750 new voting machines in
Philadelphia, and then oversaw the development of a new city election center, complete with a
fully secure warehouse, to improve the City’s ability to speed vote counting and ensure the
delivery of accurate and fair elections.

“Looking back, it’s easy to forget that all of the changes we implemented – new voting
machines, expanded mail balloting, and a new voter verifiable voting system that provides both
electronic and paper balloting results – all took place in the midst of the pandemic and during
two of the most divisive election campaigns in modern history,” Deeley said. “We made sure
that Philadelphians had unfettered access to the polls, and that their votes counted.”

Among Deeley’s other achievements are the installation of a new online campaign finance
system, a new and more interactive Commissioners website to encourage greater citizen
participation, an innovative new student poll worker program, INVOLVED@17, and the
addition of Chinese language voting instructions at the polls.

“I am excited and energized to take on the work that lies ahead, and I remind everyone – whether
you support my campaign or not – to register and VOTE in the May 16 the primary election.”
For additional information, please email lisa@deeleyforphilly.com

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