Pennsylvania in Focus

Pennsylvania's state Supreme Court told counties on Monday that ballots with dating errors cannot be counted as valid. The emergency order comes after elected officials in Bucks, Centre, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties overlooked the deficiencies, in violation of a previous high court ruling that said doing so was against state election law. The 4-3 order comes four days after the state and national Republican Party filed for extraordinary relief over the counting of undated and misdated ballots as election workers begin a recount in the U.S. Senate race.

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Last week, SEPTA announced a major fare increase after the state’s legislative session ended without approving additional funding for the flagging system. With each side of the state’s divided government blaming the other, SEPTA and its riders are left to make up the deficit. Legislators in Harrisburg have debated the issue several times over. Passage has been tied to skills game reform and infrastructure spending for roads and bridges, but it has never made it to the governor’s desk.

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Pennsylvania Democrats will return to the state House in January with a one-seat majority intact. This, after incumbent Rep. Frank Burns staved off Republican challenger Amy Bradley in the state’s 72nd district, nestled in deep red Cambria County. It’s the very same county that extended voting hours Tuesday after a ballot printing issue derailed counting. The mishap delayed results for many of the state’s closer races, including Dave McCormick’s defeat of Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr. – a result the latter says is premature.

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With all eyes on Pennsylvania, officials across the commonwealth oversaw a relatively smooth Election Day. And despite occasional local issues ranging from bomb threats to power outages, the state largely averted many of the concerns that lingered from previous elections. Of particular note was the speed with which votes were returned this election allowing officials to call the state, and the presidential race, in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

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Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race is heading toward a recount. Democrat Bob Casey Jr. has not yet conceded to Republican challenger Dave McCormick, despite national media agreement that the two-term senator cannot close the 29,000-vote gap that remains. State law triggers a recount when the winner’s margin is less than 0.5 percentage points unless the loser waives the action. Casey trails by just 0.46 points and did not exercise that right. The automatic recount must be completed before Nov. 27 at noon.

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The media and consulting firm linked to fraudulent voter registration forms in Pennsylvania earlier this week has gone dark as of Saturday. Field and Media Corps – the website and social media accounts of which are now defunct – is an Arizona-based company that contracts with Everybody Votes to run a canvassing operation in Pennsylvania and other states that target low-income minority residents unregistered to vote. The Monroe County District Attorney’s Office confirmed Wednesday that 30 registration forms contained fraudulent information, including an application submitted on behalf of a dead resident.

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Donald Trump took back Pennsylvania’s 19 electoral college votes early Wednesday after an intense campaigning schedule centered on the commonwealth. Multiple media outlets called the race for the former president with just over 95% of the ballots counted. At time of publication, he led Vice President Kamala Harris by more than 193,000 votes. Or, as Trump said himself during a rally in Reading on Monday, “If we win Pennsylvania, we win the whole ball of wax.” Trump clinched the 270 needed to win early Wednesday morning. The Associated Press made its call at 5:34 a.m. Eastern on the strength of winning battleground Wisconsin.

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Nearly 24 hours after polls closed across Pennsylvania, voters still don’t know who their next U.S. senator will be. As of 4 p.m., Republican Dave McCormick clings to a 31,000-vote lead, with 98% of ballots counted, according to The Associated Press. State returns show just under 6.8 million voters cast a ballot in the race out of 9 million registered. McCormick’s performance is an outlier result given the strong performance of other Republican candidates for statewide office, all led by President-elect Donald Trump’s three-point upset.

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Every four years, Americans make a choice between the two candidates they most trust to lead the nation. On the surface, it’s Republican or Democrat. In decades past, it’s been budget hawk or big spender. In centuries past, it’s been isolationist or globalist. But in 2024, it’s fascism or communism. At least, that’s the messaging neither candidate strayed far from during highly anticipated speeches on Tuesday.

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Pennsylvania election workers flagged 2,500 voter registrations dropped off Monday in Lancaster County for suspected fraud. In a press conference Friday, elected officials and investigators with the attorney general's office said 60% of the applications reviewed so far have been deemed illegitimate. The registrations in question were delivered in two batches. Ray D’Agostino, vice chairman of the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners, said workers noticed similar handwriting and signatures on stacks of applications. Law enforcement stepped in soon after.

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