Pennsylvania

This year’s global health crisis has dramatically changed what voting will look like on Election Day. Despite the obstacles widespread social distancing measures have placed in the way, city officials are still urging voters to exercise their right to vote, in whatever form that may be.

How much training poll workers have gotten this year varies from county to county, and the state’s new voting laws could pose additional challenges.

Despite mounting pressure from the state’s top election official, a handful of counties maintain they will not begin counting mail ballots on Election Day.

The county’s connection with Midwest Direct came through a little-known purchasing program run by the state that allows local officials to bypass bidding.

Last week’s fatal, officer-involved shooting of Walter Wallace Jr., a Black man from West Philadelphia’s Cobbs Creek neighborhood, has brought into focus a ballot question that would allow greater oversight of city police.

While experts are optimistic there will not be widespread conflict, officials are taking extra precautions in case anyone tries to disrupt the 2020 election in Pennsylvania.

They’re working 80-hour weeks, hiring armies of temporary workers, and renting extra space to keep them safe as they pledge to count votes by Friday after Election Day.

If the election comes down to Pennsylvania, the days following Nov. 3 will likely be similar to Florida in 2000.

Elections officials said they took the steps to combat voter intimidation, but at least one legal expert said a challenge was almost guaranteed.

Can I vote in person if I requested a mail ballot? Are guns allowed at the polls? Can I take a selfie? Spotlight PA will continue to answer your questions in the week leading up to the 2020 election.

Only a voter can mail their ballot or return it in person, unless they have a disability and officially designate someone to do it for them.

The latest challenge raises a new legal question: whether extending the deadline affords mail-in voters a privilege not enjoyed by those who vote in person on Nov. 3.

Voters in Northampton County — widely seen as a bellwether for the 2020 election — will use machines that in 2019 caused voting errors and miscounts.

The high court’s refusal to intervene in the case, brought by the state Republican Party and GOP leaders, means ballots in Pennsylvania will be accepted through Nov. 6.