The Pennsylvania Primary Election will take place on Tuesday, May 20, and there will be dozens of races on the ballot for voters to make decisions about in advance of the general election in November. There are a variety of judicial positions on the ballot and several county row offices, including county controller, treasurer, and coroner. Voters will weigh in on school board races and mayoral contests. Seats on borough councils and township supervisor boards will also be decided.

In a Primary Election, Democrat voters and Republican voters select the candidates they want to represent the parties during the November general election. Pennsylvania has a closed primary system. This means that Republican voters can vote only for Republican candidates and Democratic voters can vote only for Democratic candidates. The candidates who receive the highest number of votes go on to run in the general election.

Here’s a look at some of the candidates for some of the races that are on the ballot in the Primary Election: 

In county-wide contests, the incumbent Chester County coroner, Sophia Garcia-Jackson, a Democrat, is seeking re-election, while Thomas John Hatzidais is looking to win the Republican nomination. In the contest to decide the next county controller, Nick Cherubino is seeking the Democratic nomination, while Joseph Larusso has filed on the Republican side. Patricia Maisano, the incumbent treasurer, is seeking another term in that post. Maisano is a Democrat. Deana Wang has filed to win the nomination on the Republican side. For Clerk of Courts, Caroline Bradley is seeking the Democratic nomination, while Alissa McGrory, a Republican, is running to win that party’s nomination.

In the Judge of the Court of Common Pleas contest, with two seats up for election in November, Mackenzie Smith and Clay Cauley, Sr. have cross-filed and Neill Kling and Betty Ryberg, both Republicans, are seeking the nomination to advance to the General Election.

There are four seats up for election on Kennett Square Borough Council, as well as an unexpired, two-year term. James Miller and Troy Thompson have both filed on the Republican side. On the Democratic side, there are seven candidates—Bob Norris, Ethan Cramer, Hilda Matos, Patrick Mitchell, Charla Watson, Amy Reigel, and Juan L. Tafolla—vying for spots on the ballot. Elea McDonnell Feit, a Democrat, is seeking to fill the two-year unexpired term.

There are three seats up for election on Avondale Borough Council. On the Democratic side, Stephanie Reichert, Michael W. Essmaker, and Janet Watts—all incumbents—are seeking re-election.

In West Grove, Leandra Hall, a Democrat, has filed for one of the three open seats on West Grove Borough Council. No other candidates have filed for those seats or for the two-year, unexpired term on council. Voters will have the chance to support write-in candidates for these council seats.

In Pennsylvania, school board candidates can cross-file—they can seek the nomination from Republicans and Democrats simultaneously.

In Avon Grove’s Region I, there are three candidates vying for two seats that are up for election. The candidates are Ruchira Singh, an incumbent, Mike Woodin, also an incumbent, and Natalie Ortega-Moran. All three of these candidates have cross-filed in this contest.

Katie Leonard has cross-filed for the open seat in Avon Grove’s Region II. On the Republican side, Stephen Sheppleman has filed.

In Avon Grove’s Region III, incumbent Bill Wood is seeking another term and has cross-filed. Jules Quartapella has filed on the Republican side.

In Kennett Consolidated School District’s Region A, Ann Parry has cross-filed. In Region B, Jamie Blevins Raign has cross-filed and Dinamarie Vanover has filed as a Republican. In Region C, where there are two seats up for election, Juan C. Gonzalez-Zarate has filed on the Democratic side. Incumbent school board member Vicki Gehrt has cross-filed. On the Republican side, Brendan Keane and Allison DeMajistre are seeking the nomination.

In the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District, there are two seats up for election in Region A. Joseph P. Everett and Susan Still Elks have both cross-filed in this region. In Region B, also with two seats up for election, there are three candidates who have cross-filed—Jim Ash, Jr., Sandra Litvin, and Steven G. Simonson.

In local mayoral races, there are some very familiar names on the ballot—all of the incumbents in the four boroughs in southern Chester County have filed to seek re-election. Susan Rzucidlo, the mayor of Avondale Borough, is seeking a second term, and is running as a Democrat. In Oxford, Mayor Phillip Harris, a Republican, is seeking re-election. Longtime mayor Stephen Black, a Republican, is seeking another term in that position in West Grove. In Kennett Square Borough, incumbent Matthew Fetick has filed on the Democratic side. Leon Spencer, Jr. has a filed on the Republican side, setting up a potential showdown in the general election in November.

Many of the township supervisor contests are uncontested—there are only as many candidates as there are seats available in the November election. Voters will narrow the field for some contests, however.

In Penn Township, for example, three people—incumbent board chairman Victor Mantegna, Dwayne Degler, and Donald Slesinski are seeking the Democratic nomination. Republican Jakob D. Moore is seeking his party’s nomination. There are two seats up for grabs in the November election.

There is a two-year unexpired term in East Marlborough Township and James Chance and Robert McKinstry, Jr. are vying for the nomination for that seat. Chris Manning and Steven Peuquet, both Democrats, have filed to win the nominations for the two, four-year positions on the East Marlborough Township Board of Supervisors.

There are three Republicans—Steve Zurl, Jonathan McGrath, and Andy Bowman—on the ballot in London Grove Township. There are two positions up for election on London Grove Township’s Board of Supervisors.

There is a two-year unexpired term in London Britain Township. Bruce Yost is seeking to win the Democratic nomination, while Russell McKinnon is seeking to win the Republican nomination. Brian Sachs, a Democrat, is seeking a four-year term on the London Britain Township Board of Supervisors.

For much more election information, including Democratic Specimen Ballots, Republican Specimen Ballots, an official list of candidates, and the location of where you vote, the county’s Department of Voter Services has a page on the Chester County website at www.chesco.org.

On May 20, the polls will be open from 7 a.m. to  8 p.m.

For residents who aren’t yet registered to vote in Pennsylvania, the last day to register to vote in the Municipal Election is October 20. The last day to request a mail-in or absentee ballot for the Municipal Election is October 28. The Municipal Election will then take place on Tuesday, November 4.