Your neighborhood elected Democratic Party leaders
About the 48th Ward
GET READY To Vote!
Tuesday, May 19, 2026 is the next Election
It is the spring Primary Election, when political parties choose their nominee to compete head-to-head in the fall General Election against nominees in other parties (e.g., Republican, Working Families Party, Green, etc.). The Last day to register to vote for the May 2026 Primary is May 4, 2026. The last day to request a mail-in or absentee ballot is May 12, 2026.
On the upcoming Spring Primary Ballot you will be helping decide who will be:
The Democratic Candidate for Pennsylvania Governor and Lt. Governor
The Democratic Candidate for US Congressional District #3
The Democratic Candidates for PA State Senator District #8
The Democratic Candidates for PA State Representative in House Districts #185 & #186
Your neighborhood Democratic Committee People serving you in Philadelphia’s Ward 48.
Learn About Your Ward…
Scroll down to find out:
. What is the 48th Ward? . Where is the 48th Ward located? . What is the Voting Record for the 48th . What is a ‘Division’? . Explaining the Ward Leadership – Ward Leader, Committee People, Committees . Contact the 48th Ward – Facebook, Email, Instagram, Twitter
What is the 48th Ward?
Location of Ward 48 in the City of Philadelphia
Locations of the 66 Democratic Wards
Philadelphia is one of the remaining big cities with a political superstructure that starts at its smallest unit: wards, which are voting districts. For voting purposes, the City of Philadelphia is broken down into 66 geographical regions called ‘wards‘. Our Ward, number 48 out of the 66 Philadelphia Democratic Wards, is marked in red on the map shown above. The Philadelphia ‘Ward system’ organizes just over 796,000 Democratic-registered voters into a framework for grassroots, or community level, politics. Ward 48 is an open ward – meaning that candidate endorsements are voted on by the community-elected Committee People from all 23 neighborhood level divisions.
Where is the 48th Ward?
The 48th Ward includes portions of the neighborhoods known as Point Breeze, East Point Breeze (Newbold), and Gray’s Ferry. The Ward is:
the Ward is bounded on the North by Moore Street — between South Broad Street on the East and the Schuylkill River on the West, with the addition of those streets from S. 29th Street to Vare Avenue which extend North to Tasker Avenue. This includes the 1600 and the 1700 blocks of Vare, Douglas, Natrona, Napa, Corlies, and Hollywood Streets and South 29th, South 30th, South 31st, South 32nd, South 33rd, Vare Avenue and 34th Streets. This addition also includes the 3100 block of Fernon Street, between 31st and 32nd Streets.
the Ward is bounded on the South by West Passyunk Avenue from South Broad Street on the East to the Schuylkill River on the West.
The Ward is bounded on the East by South Broad Street (the 1800 and 1900 blocks) and on the West by the Schuylkill River.
Our Ward and Some of its Recent Voting Record:
As of June 2022, Ward 48 has 13, 113 registered voters, the majority of whom are Democrat.
In 2019, the Ward had 11,789 voters, 10, 340 of which (90%) were Democrats. Twenty-seven percent (27%) of these possible voters (2792 residents) participated in the ‘off-year’ 2019 General election when we voted for Mayor, City Council members, and Judges.
In 2018, thirty-one percent of the Ward’s Democratic Party registered voters participated in the Primary election, helping select the nominees for State Representative, Democratic Party delegates to the Democratic National Convention, and Committee People in the Democratic City Committee.
In May 2022, 21.9% (2872 voters) participated in the off-year Primary election when party nominees for November 2022’s General Election were selected to run against Republican candidates for the offices of Governor, Lt. Governor, US Congressional Representative, US Senator, PA State Representative and PA State Senator. State and Ward Democratic Committee People were also elected to 4 year terms in this same Primary, and several City Charter measures were voted on a Ballot Questions.
Some Ward 48 statistics:
14,555 citizens over the age of 18 live in Ward 48 as of 2019. (*New residential numbers are forthcoming from the 2020 census).
13,113 registered voters as of May 2022. In 2019, 79% of 12, 388 voters were Democrat.
What is a Division?
Each of the 66 wards is further broken down into between 11 and 51 ‘divisions‘ — also known as voting districts. Each division has its own polling place. All together across the city there are 1,686 divisions (or polling locations). These divisions are the smallest political units of the city. By law, each division is required to contain no fewer than 100 and no more than 1,200 registered voters. The 48th Ward has 23 Divisions or Voting Districts.
Every four years, up to two Committee People are elected by the Democratic voters living in each Division of the Ward. These elected neighborhood representatives then elect a leader of the Ward known as the Ward Leader. At the meeting where this occurs (every four years) other Ward leadership is also determined: 1st Ward Chair, 2nd Ward Chair, 3rd Ward Chair, Secretary and Assistant Secretary, Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer and, in most cases, a Sargent of Arms.
WARD LEADER:Al Littlepage was elected unanimously as Ward Leader of Ward 48 by the Ward 48 Committee People on December 12th, 2025.
2025 special Election for Ward Leader electing Al Littlepage, upon the resignation of 2022-2026 Ward Leader Anton Moore (whose new job does not allow Ward service effective Nov. 24th, 2025).
Former Ward Leader Anton Moore was first elected as Ward Leader for the 2018-2022 term, on June 10, 2018. (second from left). Moore oversees the counting of ballots for Ward officers alongside previous Ward Leader Lee Schwartz (Ward service, 2010-2018, right). Past and (then) newly re-elected Ward Chair Shirley Johnson (2nd from right), and Committee Person Terrance Carpenter (left, back) and (then) new Committee Person John O. Mason looks on.
COMMITTEE PEOPLE: Philadelphia will next elect Democratic and Republican committee people on May 19, 2026. Committee people serve as the front line workers for local and state political organizations. They register voters, knock on doors, endorse candidates, and lead important get-out-the-vote efforts. They also play a vital role in educating voters and addressing voter disinterest.
Jan. 20, 2024, joint Ward meeting was held with adjacently serving Committee People to the North and Southwest Wards at Yesha Hall.
Sept. 28th, 2025 ZOOM Ward Meeting –the Ward Leader and Committee People received an update by State Senator Anthony Hardy Williams on Trump-leaning developments underway by PA Republicans working in the Capital in Harrisburg.
Sept. 17th, 2019 Ward Meeting, Dixon House.
August 14, 2018, Ward Meeting, Dixon House.
Ward Committees:
Events Committee – Hospitality Committee – Fundraising – Community Outreach – Social Media – Beautification – Housing – Jobs – Voter Registration Committee- Webpage – Patrice L. Jeppson (pljeppson@gmail.com)
Contact the 48th Ward here…
48th Ward Committee Person Appreciation Picnic, August 25, 2022.
Sept. 27, 2025. Pre- General Election gathering.
This is YOUR community!Follow the 48th. Like the 48th. Email the 48th. Tweet the 48th.
