Thousands of Philly Democrats wrote in names other than Biden during Pa. Primary, data shows

When Philadelphia voters looked at their options for president in the Pennsylvania Primary in April, thousands chose someone other than the names on the ballot, according to data from the City Commissioners Office. Some Democratic voters wrote in names outside of the political world, including Phillies slugger Bryce Harper, pop star Britney Spears and former Eagle Jason Kelce. Meanwhile, some Republican voters also wrote in Kelce, as well as actor and wrestler Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Sixers star Joel Embiid.

Yet it wasn’t just the names that were notable but the numbers as well. According to the data, 400 Republican voters in Philadelphia opted for a write-in during the primary while more than 16,000 Democrats wrote in their choice.

“It tells me that there’s cause for concern for Democratic operatives and for President Biden’s re-election,” Mustafa Rashed, a Democratic political consultant and president and CEO of Bellevue Strategies, told NBC10. “I think there’s enough time to try to get a course correction to try to get things done better but on the other side of that, I’m very alarmed that 16,000 people could have stayed home that day. They could have stayed on their couches, they could have protested on social media but they chose to take an action that required a time investment. And I think that says a lot.”

The number of write-ins on the Democratic side represent close to 10 percent of the total votes in Philadelphia during the Pennsylvania Primary. That number is six times the amount of write-ins that Democratic voters in Philadelphia made during the 2020 Primary.

The new numbers come amid a campaign pushing for Democrats to write in “uncommitted” instead of voting for Biden due to the president’s handling of the Israel-Hamas War. NBC10 spoke with Tia Carioli of Mount Airy in April during President Biden’s appearance in North Philadelphia. Carioli said she wrote in “uncommitted” for the president during the primary.

“We want to see a cease fire,” she said. “A permanent cease fire. An immediate cease fire in Gaza.”

Elections only tally votes for people’s names. That means uncommitted votes and votes for sports mascots were listed as “void.” There were 14,624 “void” Democratic votes during the 2024 Pennsylvania Primary, according to the data.

The data also shows that 416 Democrats in Philadelphia wrote in Donald Trump while 95 Republicans in Philadelphia wrote in President Biden.

A spokesperson for the Biden campaign sent a statement to NBC10 in response to the write-in numbers.

“This election is a choice between Joe Biden, who will protect our health care, fight for the middle class, and stand up to threats to our democracy, and Donald Trump, who overturned Roe v Wade, would terminate the Affordable Care Act, and would raise prices for Pennsylvania families to line the pockets of his wealthy friends,” the spokesperson wrote. “Pennsylvanians will once again deliver the Presidency to Joe Biden this November.”