Civic News
Elections / Social media

If you’re looking for Election Day info on social media today, here’s who to follow and what to watch

Accounts to follow for polling updates and resources across Philadelphia this Nov. 3.

Voting stickers. (GIF via Giphy)

Election Day is upon us, and if you’re anything like us over here at Technical.ly, that probably means you’re switching between a collection of national and local news outlets as well as social media platforms checking for updates.

I’m here to tell you to breathe, remember that Twitter is only a snapshot of what’s happening in the world, and that we likely won’t know official election results in Pennsylvania for a few days. (Yep, repeating this to myself, too.) While Twitter and Instagram aren’t the only things you should be checking for info today, there are a host of people who have been sharing relevant, resourceful and interesting information about Election Day and voting.

If you’re looking for some go-tos, we’ve got you covered.

First, if you voted by mail and are missing some of the at-the-polls excitement, the Philadelphia City Commissioners — the board that runs elections and voter registration — is livestreaming the counting of mail-in votes.

The Commissioners are also sharing info on Twitter, like updates about polling locations and a guide to voting.

For general election and voting knowledge, look to The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Johnathan Lai, who’s been doing a bang-up job of election coverage across the board, including this helpful “What we will and won’t know on Election Night in Pennsylvania.”

“Remember: There’s a difference between knowing the final vote count and knowing enough to unofficially declare a winner. How quickly news organizations like the AP can call the race depends on how close the margins are and how things play out in the rest of the country,” he wrote last week. “There very well may be enough information on election night to call the presidential race, especially if it’s a landslide.”

For an understanding on what’s going on in Pennsylvania with legal action around voting, follow Lauren Vidas, an election law attorney who’s been tweeting updates to the motions President Donald Trump’s team is putting forward in Philadelphia. Her thread started early this morning, and includes updates on the issues of poll watching.

Trump’s team has been claiming Pennsylvania’s been violating election code for weeks, with mention of Philadelphia specifically in the second debates, when the famous “Bad things happen in Philadelphia” line was born. Here’s more on that.

Streets Dept.’s Conrad Benner has been pumping out election info on social media the last few weeks, and today’s no different, including this reminder to do something good for you tonight that will help distract you while we wait for results.

The ACLU of Pennsylvania is tweeting out voter rights information, including resources like its election protection hotline, what to do if you see voter intimidation and a tool for updates on changing polling locations.

Urban demographer Jonathan Tannen, creator of Sixty-Six Wards, is back with his live Philadelphia Turnout Tracker, which gathers stats and forecasts overall election turnout. This year, the graph is shifted upward by mail-in ballots that have been submitted.

And as always, the best way to learn about up-to-date Philly news is to follow reporters out on the ground. For some slices of joy, look to the Inquirer’s Brandon T. Harden for sartorial updates from South Philly …

… and Billy Penn’s Layla Jones is reporting on turnout and lines in West Philly.

We’ll also be sharing relevant information from @TechnicallyPHL over the next several days, and a more comprehensive look of resources and journalists can be found at the list here.

Companies: The Philadelphia Inquirer / Twitter
Series: Election 2020
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