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Amid concerns of election denialism, a report from a nonpartisan watchdog organization highlights the robust protections in place to help safeguard Pennsylvania’s election process.
More than 8 million registered voters in the commonwealth are expected to cast a ballot in today's presidential election. Polls are open in Pennsylvania until 8 p.m.
Jenny Gimian, director of legal research and senior policy counsel for the nonprofit Informing Democracy, said counties in Pennsylvania have significant authority to interpret and implement state laws, while the Secretary of State has limited oversight powers. It comes into play if defective ballots need a “cure.”
“Pennsylvania doesn’t have a cure law,” Gimian said. “The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently issued a decision confirming that counties can decide whether or not they are going to notify voters if they discover a defect with their ballot before election day. Some counties go out of their way to notify voters and allow them to cast a provisional ballot to fix the issue, others do not.”
In Allegheny County, nine ballot return sites will remain open through Nov. 4.
Voters had until Oct. 29 to request a mail-in or absentee ballot in Pennsylvania.
According to the Pennsylvania Department of State, more than 257,000 Allegheny County voters requested mail-in ballots for the Nov. 5 election. Of those, about 201,000 have already been returned.
“We strongly encourage voters who are still holding on to their mail-in ballots to use one of our 10 ballot return sites across the county,” Allegheny County Elections Division Manager Dave Voye said. “If we receive a ballot after 8 p.m. on Election Day, even if it is postmarked Election Day or earlier, we cannot accept it.”
In addition to the South Park ice rink, locations include:
• Duquesne: Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank • Avalon: Public Library • Dormont: Pool • Homewood: Community College of Allegheny County • Moon Twp.: Allegheny County Emergency Services Building • Pine Twp.: North Park ice rink • Plum: Boyce Park Four Seasons Lodge • Squirrel Hill: Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
The hours of the above locations are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends.
Voters who send or drop-off an absentee ballot may not vote in person at their neighborhood polling place, state officials have warned.
However, Allegheny County officials said voters who requested an absentee ballot, but did not return it, should bring it to their poling place and ask to vote in person instead. This process is known as “spoiling a ballot.”
Voters who are not in possession of their mail-in ballot and have not had confirmation that their mail-in ballot was received by the Elections Division should ask to cast a provisional ballot, the county said.
The United States Postal Service earlier this week suggested that all ballots be in the mail back to the County Elections Division by Oct. 29.
The County Office Building on Ross Street in downtown Pittsburgh also will be open for voters returning their mail-in ballots, a spokesperson said. The lane on Ross Street closest to the building is available for people to temporarily park and return their ballot.
The County Office Building hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends, and 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day.
Allegheny County elections officials have issued this video explaining how absentee and mail-in ballots are counted. (Courtesy Allegheny County via YouTube)
Ahead of Tuesday’s election, Pennsylvania has become ground-zero for election conspiracy theories, experts warned this week, and they are cautioning the public not to be fooled.
Officials with the Allegheny County Elections Bureau have already attempted to debunk social media rumors after a video circulated of an absentee ballot drop-off location in South Park.
County officials said no illegal activity occured at the South Park drop-off facility, located at the county-owned ice rink on Corrigan Drive. The county elections bureau has opened temporary satellite offices at nine locations, including in Duquesne, Squirrel Hill and six other neighborhoods, where voters may deliver their own absentee ballots to elections workers.
One of the hot issues for younger voters — the year-long Israeli bombing campaign on Palestine, following an October 2023 surprise attack by Hamas — was barely mentioned Tuesday during a get-out-the-vote rally in McKeesport’s Renziehausen Park.
The closest anyone came was when former President Bill Clinton was listing a variety of problems the country was facing. The issue received less attention than questions about artificial intelligence.
Earlier in the day, an appearance by Clinton at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg was briefly interrupted when a 20-year-old protestor who identified herself only as “Faith” interrupted the former president’s remarks to ask why the United States is still supplying weapons to Israel.
Jill Stein, Green Party candidate for president, speaks during a 2016 campaign stop in Omaha, Neb. (Matt A.J. photo via Flickr, licensed under Creative Commons license CC BY 2.0)
Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein will attend a candidate forum in Renziehausen Park tonight (Wednesday) sponsored by Mon Valley-based Take Action Advocacy Group and Pittsburgh’s 412 Justice.
The Environmental Justice Candidate Forum begins at 5 p.m. at Jacob Woll Pavilion in McKeesport. The event is free, but online registration is requested.
In addition to Stein, other candidates who are scheduled to attend include Leila Hazou, Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate; U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, Democrat of Swissvale, who is seeking her second term in Congress, and challenger James Hayes (Republican Party); state attorney general candidates Eugene DePasquale (Democratic Party) and Richard L. Weiss (Green Party); Malcolm Kenyatta, Democratic candidate for state auditor general; Erin McClelland, Democratic candidate for state treasurer; State Sen. Jay Costa, Forest Hills Democrat, seeking re-election in the 43rd District; and John Ritter, Republican candidate for state General Assembly in the 25th District.
Former President Bill Clinton, who visited McKeesport in 1992 while running for president, helped lead a “get-out-the-vote” rally for local Democrats at Renziehausen Park on Tuesday. (Yousuf Lachhab Ibrahim photo for Tube City Almanac)
Former President Bill Clinton came to McKeesport on Tuesday for a Get Out the Vote rally in support of Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign for president.
With early voting underway and Election Day less than a week away, Democrats, Republicans, and the Green Party are trying to secure votes with the little time they have left in Pennsylvania, which is considered the key swing state this year.
On the same day that Clinton came to McKeesport, Trump held a rally in Allentown. Jill Stein, the Green Party presidential candidate, will be coming to McKeesport tonight (Wednesday) for an environmental justice forum in Renziehausen Park from 5 to 8 p.m.
Sept. 8-13 is Disability Voting Rights Week. The event is a nonpartisan movement hosted by the American Association of People with Disabilities and REV UP. (Photo courtesy American Association of People with Disabilities)
Disability Voting Rights Week is an annual call to action that occurs during the second week of September. It focuses on advocacy, celebrating community and building empowerment.
Mallory Hudson, disability justice program director with the Keystone Progress Education Fund, said Pennsylvanians are encouraged to take time to host voter registration and education events, organize candidate forums on disability issues, and engage with elected officials.
“We at Keystone Progress Education Fund are using this week to kick off our first of many voter-registration drives, at skilled nursing facilities and personal care homes across Allegheny County,” Hudson said. “More than 125,000 people live in all the skilled nursing facilities and personal care homes across Pennsylvania.”
This photo from the Bucks County, Pa., elections division shows the new yellow secrecy ballot that will be supplied to all Pennsylvania voters for the April primary. (Bucks County, Pa., official photo)
With Pennsylvania’s primary election less than 60 days away, a nonpartisan group is stepping up the pace to educate people on voting by mail and by absentee ballot.
A redesigned mail-in ballot will debut statewide in April for more than 8 million registered voters.
The ballot materials are barcoded, so no individual voter can be identified, said Jessica Myers, who co-chairs the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania’s voter services. The new ballot also has graphics and updated instructions to help voters understand the mail-in process.
“The secrecy envelope has a yellow background with sort of a blue-gray colored watermark that says ‘Official Secrecy Ballot,’” Myers said. “There are some additional color coding and instructions on the outside of the envelope, including where the voters declaration is. It’s prefilled with a ‘2-0’ so that we have fewer people writing in their birthdates.”
State Sen. Jim Brewster speaks to the media about the COVID-19 pandemic during the summer of 2020 as former Gov. Tom Wolf looks on. Brewster has announced that he will retire at the end of his current term. (Tube City Almanac file photo)
The McKeesport Democrat said Thursday that serving the 45th Senatorial District “has been an honor, privilege and pleasure,” but that after 14 years in the state senate, “it is time to explore other options and take on new challenges.”
Local elected officials, including Lt. Gov. Austin Davis and McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko, paid tribute to Brewster’s career in public service, which also has included stints as a McKeesport city councilman and mayor from 2003 to 2010.
“Jim Brewster has upheld a lifelong commitment to McKeesport and the entire Mon Valley,” Cherepko said in a prepared release. “He is a hardworking, goal-oriented leader, who has always strived for the growth of our region. He does this with a kind heart and genuine concern for his neighbors and constituents. I’m proud to call him a mentor and a friend.”
The race to replace Brewster is expected to be hotly contested.
Speculation is rising about the future of the 45th District seat currently held by state Sen. Jim Brewster of McKeesport.
An automated text-message poll currently being conducted in the Mon-Yough area claims Brewster is “unlikely to seek re-election” and then asks recipients, “which of the following Democrats would you be most likely to support to replace him?”
The poll lists state Rep. Nick Pisciottano of West Mifflin, McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko, Monroeville Mayor Nick Gresock and Brentwood social worker Makenzie White.
Brewster, who has represented the 45th District since 2010, declined comment on Thursday. White has already launched a website for her candidacy for the Democratic nomination.
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