Polls are open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. for today’s elections across Pennsylvania as Pittsburghers choose their next mayor and three state Supreme Court justices seek new 10-year terms.
Municipal, school and county legislators are also on the ballot statewide. Four Pittsburgh City Council seats are at stake, along with eight Allegheny County Council seats and five Pittsburgh Public Schools board seats.
Here’s what you need to know about today’s election.
How do I vote?
Use this Pennsylvania website to find out where to vote today.
Voters are not asked to show identification at the polls unless it is their first time voting at their current precinct.
The deadline for registering to vote in this election was two weeks ago. Use this website to check your registration status.
What about mail-in ballots?
If you already returned your mail-in ballot to the county, you don’t have to do anything else. If you still have it, it’s too late to put it in the mail. Ballots received after 8 p.m. tonight will not be counted.
Voters who have not yet returned a mail-in ballot can return it by hand at the County Office Building at 542 Forbes Ave. A voter can only return their own ballot.
What’s on the ballot?
The race for Pittsburgh mayor pits Democrat Corey O’Connor against Republican Tony Moreno. O’Connor enjoys a vast fundraising advantage and a left-leaning electorate, while Moreno is running on his police background and an anti-establishment message.
Corey O’Connor, Democratic nominee for mayor of Pittsburgh and current Allegheny County controller, arrives with his family to vote on Election Day at Pittsburgh Linden K-5. (Photos by Stephanie Strasburg/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)
To learn who is running for your City Council, County Council or school board seat, review this voter guide from Public Source and Pittsburgh City Paper.
A vigorous race in Pittsburgh’s west
Perhaps the most energetic Pittsburgh City Council race was unfolding in western neighborhoods. Longtime Councilor Theresa Kail-Smith’s decision to step down left the seat up for grabs between her chief of staff, Kim Salinetro, a Democrat, and Republican activist Erin Koper.
Erin Koper, Republican nominee for Pittsburgh City Council in District 2, talks to members of her team outside of the polling station at Ascension Roman Catholic Church on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Windgap. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)
Sandy Maker, 68, donned her Koper campaign t-shirt to the polling station at Ascension Roman Catholic Church in western Pittsburgh’s Windgap neighborhood Tuesday morning. The Elliott resident said her neighborhood is marred by abandoned property and economic decline. Meanwhile, she questions the taxing and spending choices handed down from Grant Street.
“It’s far time we have transparency on City Council,” Maker said.
As a swing voter, Maker said she’s never been too invested in a candidate before, but “jumped on board” and canvassed for Koper.
“She’s in it for the long run,” Maker said of Koper, an underdog in Democrat-heavy District 2.
Earnest and Vanessa Fullwood, 69 and 66, respectively, said they are worried about police staffing, incident response times, equal employment opportunities for minority officers and youth programming.
The couple, who retired in Pittsburgh, said they think Kail-Smith has done a good job and though they hope Salinetro will address their concerns, they aren’t sure how it will play out.
“Once the politicians come in, they forget about the people,” Vanessa Fullwood said.
They said judicial retention was the main issue drawing them to the polls.
What’s a retention election?
Voters will also elect eight judges to the Court of Common Pleas in Allegheny County and to seats on the appellate Commonwealth Court and Superior Court. Voters will also decide on retention elections for judges at all levels, including three Supreme Court justices.
The Supreme Court elections have drawn national attention in political circles. The three justices are running for retention, meaning voters will vote ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ on each, either granting them new terms or ousting them from the bench.
All three were elected as Democrats in 2015, and their removal from the court would throw its liberal leaning into question as partisan elections would be held to replace them in 2027. State and national groups have poured money into the race, saying its outcome will impact state policy issues like abortion access, election administration and gerrymandering.
How can I find out who wins?
Public Source will publish election results starting at 8 p.m., with live returns from the Associated Press for the mayoral election and statewide judicial elections. We will publish the AP’s calls — declaring which candidate has won — in real time.
To receive an email notification as soon as we know the winner of the mayor’s race, sign up here.
Follow Public Source on X, Bluesky or Instagram for updates from our journalists.
Charlie Wolfson is the local government reporter for Pittsburgh’s Public Source. He can be reached at charlie@publicsource.org.
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