A Pittsburgh Voting Guide for the 2025 Election

Ready to do your civic duty Nov. 4? Below is a breakdown of your ballot ⬇️

⏰ Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Find your polling place here. If you’re in line at 8 p.m., they have to let you vote!

✅ If you're voting at a new polling place, you may need to provide an accepted form of ID. If you're a returning voter, you don’t need an ID.

📬 If you’re voting by mail, your ballot must be received by election officials by the time polls close.

If this feels annoying, we hear you. Go vote anyway! And check out seven ideas to make voting easier here in PA. Now let's dig into the races.

⚖️ State Judges

Supreme Court

Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court is the highest court in the state. The positions are elected in 10-year increments, and once on the bench, judges can run for retention — similar to re-election. Three of seven justices are up for a retention vote. State Supreme Court judges have made influential rulings about gerrymandering, education funding, health care, and guns.

What's at stake? This election could determine whether Democrats keep their majority, and both parties are pouring money into this race. Democrats say Pennsylvanians' right to abortion access hinges on voting “yes;” Republicans say the current justices are “too radical.” All three judges have been recommended for another term by the Pennsylvania Bar Association.

➡️ Who's on the ballot?

🎧 Hear why judicial retention could be the most important question on your ballot.

👀 Read on: SpotlightPA, WESA

Commonwealth Court

Commonwealth Court is an intermediate court, above the local level and below the state Supreme Court. Its nine judges hear civil cases in Harrisburg, Philly, and Pittsburgh involving state and local governments — deciding on issues related to election laws, education funding, environmental regulations, labor issues, and more. They can have an outsized impact on public policy. The current makeup is five Republicans and three Democrats; one seat is open.

➡️ Who's on the ballot?

Democrat Michael Wojcik is also up for retention.

👀 Read on: WHYY, City Paper

Superior Court

Superior Court is an intermediate court, above the local level and below the state Supreme Court. Judges handle appeals from the local Court of Common Pleas. And while this court doesn’t make news very often (Meek Mill’s case was a notable exception), it’s the state court Pennsylvanians are most likely to interact with, since its 15 judges consider business disputes, child custody, and probation and parole. The current makeup is eight Democrats and six Republicans; one seat is open.

➡️ Who's on the ballot?

Democrat Alice Beck Dubow is also up for retention.

👀 Read on: SpotlightPA, Public Source

In all three courts — Supreme, Commonwealth, and Superior — judges serve 10-year terms and must retire at age 75.

🏙️ City of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh Mayor

Elected every four years, our city mayor serves as chief executive, oversees day-to-day operations, represents the city, proposes budgets, signs legislation, and appoints department leaders.

What’s at stake? City Controller Rachael Heisler says Pittsburgh’s finances don’t make sense — the city’s expenditures in 2025 vastly exceed our ability to pay, tax revenue is down, overtime is up, and the proposed 2026 budget looks just as “sloppy.” The next mayor may also decide important housing policy and will represent us during major events like the NFL Draft.

🎧 Listen to our interviews with the candidates:

👀 Read on: Public Source, WESA

City Council

Voters choose nine City Council representatives every four years, alternating even and odd districts. Councilors propose, debate, and vote on legislation; approve contracts; and allocate millions of dollars for city resources. They’ve all been Democrats for many years.

What’s at stake? Councilors approve the mayor’s budget, confirm appointments, influence housing policy, and more. There’s always debate about what some councilors consider the inequitable distribution of resources across city neighborhoods, and their decisions often inform how the rest of us live. Find your Council district here.

➡️ Even districts are up this year. Here’s who’s on the ballot:

👀 Read on: WESA, Public Source

School Board

Five of nine Pittsburgh Public Schools seats are up for election — the candidates are all Democrats, all unopposed. School board members serve four years per term, and they’re responsible for setting district policy and programming, budgeting, considering charter school petitions, and hiring the superintendent. The PPS board will ultimately decide when and how to close and consolidate schools.

🌳 Allegheny County

County Council

Allegheny County councilors serve four-year terms. They work with County Executive Sara Innamorato to create, amend, and approve county ordinances, as well as appoint board positions and approve budgets and tax increases. There are 15 seats — 13 by district and two at-large; eight are up for grabs. While many races are pitting incumbents against challengers, fresh faces are guaranteed in Districts 1, 3, and 9.

What’s at stake? There’s been a lot of debate about pursuing a countywide property reassessment, which would make your property taxes better reflect the current state of your home. For many of us, it would also mean our bills go up. The county is also in a precarious financial position right now. Council voted recently to freeze spending and hiring as the county continues borrowing from itself to cover bills typically paid by the state and federal governments — neither of which has passed a budget. Find your Council district here.

➡️ Who’s on the ballot?

👀 Read on: WESA, City Paper

County Sheriff

The Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office is the branch of law enforcement most closely aligned with the courts. Officers act like regular cops — investigating, executing warrants, etc. — while also providing security for the courthouse, transporting incarcerated people, and serving legal documents. They handle sheriff's sales of confiscated property, manage firearms licensing, and work with task forces like those from the DEA and FBI.

➡️ Who’s on the ballot?

👀 Read on: WESA, City Paper

Court of Common Pleas

Judges elected to the Court of Common Pleas hear cases related to events that happen in or involve Allegheny County. They get assigned to one of four divisions: civil, criminal, family, and orphans’ court. There are 13 candidates running for eight seats. While all are registered Democrats, some are running as Republicans, since the position is considered nonpartisan.

The Allegheny County Bar Association shared a list of recommended judges. A group of progressive organizations endorsed a separate "Slate of 8" for the primary that they said are committed to criminal justice reform; five are on the November ballot.

Seven sitting judges are also up for retention, meaning another 10-year term.

👀 Read on: WESA, Public Source