Philadelphia's 2019 municipal primaries are happening in just a few months on May 21st, and if the past two election cycles are any indication, the political mood both nationally and locally seems likely to remain unusually favorable to upstart political candidates independent from the traditional party structure. Is that trend going to hold this year? We're still more than a month away from the petition period to get on the ballot, but here's what we already know about the 2019 field.

(City Commissioners | Photo credit: Emma Lee, WHYY)

Two weeks ago, City Commissioner Al Schmidt released information about the impact of a flaw in PennDOT’s Motor Voter program that allowed non-citizens to register to vote. That’s clearly a problem, but the bigger issue is everything else. 

So it turns out the City Commissioners processed a ton of voter registrations really late and lost a bunch more. This is not good or surprising news. 

(Anthony Clark, Lisa Deeley, and Al Schmidt. Photo credit: Emma Lee / WHYY)

As you've probably read by now, Philadelphia 3.0, along with the Committee of Seventy and the Public Interest Law Center, filed a suit in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. This suit asks the court to compel the President Judge of the Court of Common Pleas to appoint temporary election overseers to run Philadelphia's May 2017 primaries in the place of the City Commissioners.

(Philadelphia City Commissioners | Photo: Emma Lee / WHYY)

Philadelphia 3.0, along with the Committee of Seventy and three independent petitioners, filed a lawsuit in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Monday to ensure that the May 2017 primary election complies with Pennsylvania election law. We’re working with the Public Interest Law Center on this matter. Read the story in today's Inquirer.

Last month, Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump waxed conspiratorial, telling a crowd in Altoona that the only way he'd lose Pennsylvania was if there was massive voter fraud in Philadelphia.