News & Brews November 5, 2024
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Here’s what Pa. is voting on today
We’ve heard (and been saying) it for months: The presidential race could all come down to Pennsylvania. But the White House isn’t the only thing on our ballots! Today, Pennsylvanians will also vote for a new attorney general (we have endorsed Dave Sunday), as well as state Treasurer (we’re backing incumbent Stacy Garrity) and auditor general (we’re backing incumbent Tim DeFoor). Plus, all 203 state House seats are up for election. Democrats hold a 1-seat majority, which they’re hoping to expand, while Republicans are working to flip multiple vulnerable blue seats to regain the party lead. Further, 25 of our 50 state Senate seats are on the ballot. Plus. one U.S. Senate seat, where incumbent Democrat U.S. Sen. Bob Casey is facing GOP challenger Dave McCormick in an election that’s been deemed a toss-up. And all of our congressional seats are also on the ballot, with several races being closely watched as they could help determine the party balance in the U.S. House. Still have any questions about voting? Click here for official info from the Pa. Department of State.
Philly judge says Elon Musk’s giveaway can continue
A Philly Court of Common Pleas judge yesterday rejected DA Larry Krasner’s attempt to block Elon Musk’s $1 million-per-day giveaway. The Inquirer reports that “[t[he judge did not immediately elaborate on the reasons for his decision, saying he intended to release a more detailed opinion soon elaborating on his ruling.”
‘Final polling averages show extremely tight race’
At this point, this isn’t “new” news, but a look at polling averages across three major polling publications suggests a very close race. Also not surprising? “It could all come down to Pennsylvania.” So notes POLITICO while providing a graphic of what the polling averages show as of last night. The story notes, “If you take these averages literally,” (which “you should not do”), “you get 268 electoral votes for Trump and 251 electoral votes for Harris. That would make the 19 electoral votes from Pennsylvania — where one of the averages currently shows a tie, and the other two are within a half-point — decisive.”
Why swing state results ‘could take days’
Reason’s Eric Boehm explains why counting votes in several swing states, including Pennsylvania, could take time and mean that results are not known tonight, or even tomorrow. Boehm writes, “On its own, that delay is not evidence of fraud by voters or election workers. Processing mail-in ballots takes longer than counting in-person votes—each ballot has to be opened by hand, verified, and counted.” In Pa., for example, “election workers are prohibited by state law from processing absentee and mail-in ballots until Election Day. More than 2 million voters in Pennsylvania have requested mail-in ballots this year, and more than 80 percent have already been returned.”
Pa. counties stop voter registration fraud attempts
The Washington Times gives an update on the successful effort by several Pa. counties to stop a voter registration fraud scheme tied to an Arizona-based group that has been linked to a Democrat official. In Lancaster County, about 2500 voter registration forms were flagged for investigation. As of yesterday, “57% of the registrations flagged have been verified as valid, 17% were confirmed to be fraudulent and 26% are either incomplete or non-verified.”