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.
65-18, 19, 21: Polling place has been moved to 7755 Frankford Avenue (Storefront).
— Philadelphia City Commissioners (@PhillyVotes) November 3, 2020
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.”
This year, of course, one thing I’m particularly interested in is the number of people who want to surrender their mail ballots and vote on the machines or use provisional ballots. That takes time and poll worker attention. Get enough people doing that and it can clog things up.
— Jonathan Lai 🙊 賴柏羽 (@Elaijuh) November 3, 2020
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.
So for those keeping score at home:
Trump Motion 1: meaningful observation at canvass, withdrawn
Trump Motion 2: preventing sharing of voter info with observers of canvass (pending)
Trump Motion 3: requiring duly appointed GOP poll watchers access to polling places (pending)
— Lauren Vidas 🤦♀️ (@BroadAndMarket) November 3, 2020
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.
Sit tight. Turn off the TV news and put your phone in a drawer. Fold the clean laundry that's been piling up, take daily long walks with friends, open a new book, do whatever might help you manage the next few days. And when all the votes are counted, we'll know!
— Conrad Benner (@StreetsDept) November 3, 2020
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.
😀We love to see voters in line at the polls exercising their rights.
😠We hate to see voter intimidation.So if you see voter intimidation, we want to know. Call or text us. No one should block your right to vote. #BeAVoter pic.twitter.com/aF4wWCG9CM
— ACLU of Pennsylvania (@aclupa) November 3, 2020
There have been some polling changes in Philadelphia. There is a city-specific lookup tool. Just enter your residential address: https://t.co/skAvtuxo04
Statewide tool: https://t.co/F9YL913SKa
— ACLU of Pennsylvania (@aclupa) November 3, 2020
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.
As we approach noon, an estimated 186K Philadelphians have voted in person.
For context, in 2018 half of the eventual votes were recorded before noon: https://t.co/JXZmwGaNJ7 pic.twitter.com/uigXRMtN75
— Sixty-Six Wards (@sixtysixwards) November 3, 2020
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 …
Florence Easley, 94, said she wore her best coat to vote because, “I always come prepared.” She and her husband William Matunda, 89, are lifelong Philadelphians and are voting, “to make our voices heard.” pic.twitter.com/3Tj6FIX6uR
— Brandon T. Harden (@brandontrevion) November 3, 2020
… and Billy Penn’s Layla Jones is reporting on turnout and lines in West Philly.
Long lines at Lucien E. Blackwell Community Center before 7 am even hit pic.twitter.com/FG3csm0Skh
— Layla Jones (@bae_lay) November 3, 2020
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.
How is Pennsylvania counting ballots? What will we know on election night? Plus 3 more big Qs you might have ahead of #ElectionDay https://t.co/X326hsjOZc
— Technical.ly Philly (@TechnicallyPHL) November 3, 2020
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