🎃 Happy Halloween. Five days until election day.
Weather in Pennsylvania
🌤️ Barkeyville | Partly radiant, 77
🌤️Fort Littleton | Mostly radiant, 80
🌤️Thorndale | Rising Clouds, 80
Sports PA
🏒 Penguins (3-7-1) | Thu vs. Anaheim
🏒 Flyers (3-6-1) | Thu vs. St. Louis
🏀 Sixes (1-3) | Wednesday vs. Detroit 95-105 | Saturday vs. Memphis
🎙️ Keystone Candidate Forum. Hear from the PA Attorney General candidates. (PolitykaPA)
👀 What we see. Does tardy money matter? Vice President Kamala Harris as of Monday, she had raised more than $11 million compared to just under $150,000 for the former president Donald Trump.
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The most crucial story
1. Polls: Pennsylvania Coin Flip Contest
“Remember when you were an NFL referee Gene Steratore pulled an index card to determine whether the front of the ball touched the first down marker?
This might be the most accurate description of today’s presidential race in Pennsylvania?
Two respected pollsters, CNN/SSRS and Quinnipiac University, released the results of their latest polls in the Keystone State on Wednesday and confirmed what we already thought we knew.” (PolitykaPA)
Elsewhere
Decision notes: What to expect in Pennsylvania on Election Day. “The Associated Press does not make predictions and will only announce a winner once it determines there is no scenario that would allow the remaining candidates to close the gap.” (AP)
Kamala Harris brings the presidential campaign to Harrisburg in the final sprint. “On Wednesday, Central Pennsylvania Democrats finally stepped into the president’s spotlight as Vice President Kamala Harris kicked off the final week of her campaign with a rally with several thousand enthusiastic friends in Harrisburg. Don’t be fooled, it was a business trip. (PennLive)
Trump and his allies increase allegations of election fraud in Pennsylvania. “Former President Donald Trump and his allies view routine election processes as signs of fraud in the critical battleground state of Pennsylvania, amplifying allegations, videos and lawsuits alleging voting irregularities even as local elections officials push back.” (NBC News)
In Pennsylvania, an influx of EU infrastructure jobs. Harris gets no credit. “The infrastructure law is a central pillar of the Biden-Harris administration’s legacy. It wasn’t a political victory.” (known)
Protecting Pennsylvania Elections. “For months, government officials have been preparing to confront the threat of far-right conspirators who may attempt to “stop the steal.”“New Yorker.”)
Country
2. Pennsylvania court relaxes mail-in voting rules, but expedited appeal likely
“ A divided Pennsylvania appeals court ruled Wednesday that the envelopes voters use to mail absentee ballots do not have to be precisely hand-dated, a fact that became a reality after the state Supreme Court sidestepped the issue and six days before the deadline voting in the presidential election.
The Commonwealth Court’s 3-2 decision upheld a Philadelphia judge’s ruling that 69 absentee ballots should be counted in two special state House elections held in September. (AP)
Elsewhere
Casey lays out the case, lays out his differences with McCormick at the Lancaster stop. “dream. Bob Casey Jr. visited the Red Rose town of Lancaster on Wednesday to accept the endorsement of a prominent Republican and to make his case for a fourth term in the U.S. Senate.” (PoliticsPA)
Haley campaigns for McCormick in suburban Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. “Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley traveled to Pennsylvania last Wednesday before the 2024 elections to rally support for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick in regions that have moved away from the Republican Party over the past decade.” (Penn Capital Star)
Republicans are spending $10 million more than Democrats on television ads for Pennsylvania’s Attorney General Race. “The Republican nominee for attorney general and the well-funded political action committees supporting him spent more than $13 million to flood Pennsylvania’s airwaves with television ads throughout Election Day.” (PA reflector)
Auditor General Tim DeFoor announced an audit of Pennsylvania’s drive-thru voting system. Will it sow distrust in PA elections? “Pennsylvania’s top auditor is examining the state’s automatic voter registration system and has concluded that some GOP lawmakers in Harrisburg are baselessly suggesting that the ‘drive-thru voter’ program allows non-U.S. citizens to participate in elections.” (Questioner from Philadelphia)
Pennsylvania Democrats Are Backing Abortion on the Ballot. “Pennsylvania Democrats believe their path to expanding power in the state legislature is through the suburbs — and they are stressing the importance of protecting reproductive rights to get there.” (POLICY)
Democrats and Republicans are fighting for control of PA legislation in Tuesday’s elections. “Gub. Josh Shapiro has often said he is the only governor in the country who has to deal with a divided legislature with the House under Democratic control and the Senate in Republican hands.” (PennLive)
House of Representatives candidates tout crossover support in latest episode. “Democrat Janelle Stelson launched a “Republicans for Janelle” campaign in her 10th District race against Republican Scott Perry (Pa.). Stelson has gained the support of many former GOP legislators, such as Adam Kinzinger (Illinois) and Barbara Comstock (Virginia). “Perry dismissed these pressures as irrelevant to voters in the district.” (Punchbowl News)
Around the Republic of Poland
3. More than 2 million Pennsylvanians choose to vote by mail
“This no-excuse absentee voting appears to be popular with Pennsylvania voters.
More than 2.18 million registered voters in the commonwealth applied for an absentee ballot by the Oct. 29 deadline. This total is much smaller than the 2.7 million citizens who voted by mail in 2020 in the pandemic-affected elections, but it is significant nonetheless.
That’s almost a quarter (23.8%) of PA’s 9.16 million registered voters.” (PolitykaPA)
Elsewhere
How absentee ballots are processed in Pennsylvania. “More than two million absentee ballots have been requested in the state alone. This is what happens to all of them.” (Questioner from Philadelphia)
- The Pennsylvania Democratic Party is suing the Erie Board of Elections over thousands of missing absentee ballots. (Penn Capital Star)
- York County: About 740 voter registration applications were referred to the district attorney. (York daily record)
- Fake absentee ballot application forms were found in Monroe County, Dakota. (Morning talk in Allentown)
- The Lancaster County Prosecutor’s Office says it is investigating “hundreds” of problematic voter registration forms. (LNP | Lancaster on the Internet)
Inside a warehouse in Pittsburgh where Allegheny County votes are counted. “County clerks offer insight into the equipment and manpower that help run elections in Allegheny County.” (Pittsburgh Postal Newspaper)
A Pennsylvania county influences elections, but it wants it to end. “In this charming region along the Delaware River, amid bright fall foliage and impressive Halloween decorations, an almost silent fight for the presidency is taking place.” (Roll call)
These areas of Pennsylvania could determine the outcome of the 2024 election. “From Erie County in the west to Bucks County in the east, votes are up for grabs.” (Pittsburgh Postal Newspaper)
Editorial
4. What do you mean
- At last! It’s time for “The Only Poll That Counts” in Pennsylvania. (John Baer)
- As Election Day approaches, the difference between Trump and Harris couldn’t be more stark. (Questioner from Philadelphia)
- On election day, election commission workers will be in the spotlight. (Devi Lockwood)
- What happened to the civil dispute? (Beth Ann Rosica)
1 item
5. The doctor called home
Here’s your break from Thursday’s election news. Dr. J took this shot.
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