Election category, Page 120
Face to face: Trump, Biden to meet for final debate
NASHVILLE — President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, are set to square off in their final debate Thursday, one of the last high-profile opportunities for the trailing incumbent to change the trajectory of an increasingly contentious campaign. Worried about losing the White House, some advisers are urging...
Westmoreland County says mail-in ballot backlog cleared
Westmoreland County officials reported all but about 4,100 requested mail-in ballots have been sent to voters. The county elections bureau said as of Wednesday morning, more than 64,600 ballots were mailed, clearing a backlog of requests caused by delays at the Cleveland company hired to print and mail them. “The...
Jill Biden makes case to local Italian American community on husband’s behalf
Local Democrats received a message Wednesday from the wife of Joe Biden asking they embrace her husband’s candidacy and her Italian roots as the presidential race heads into the stretch drive with less than two weeks to go before Election Day. Jill Biden, in an online address to supporters as...
5 questions as Trump, Biden prepare for final debate
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — President Donald Trump and his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, meet on the debate stage for the second and final time Thursday night in Tennessee. The 90-minute prime-time meeting comes just 12 days before Election Day. Some key questions heading into the debate: CAN TRUMP CHANGE THE TRAJECTORY...
Record 9 million people register to vote in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania has eclipsed 9 million registered voters for the first time and is expecting record turnout as voters cast ballots by mail or drop box and in person at county elections offices before the election and at the polls on Nov. 3. As of Wednesday, the state had processed 9,050,870...
Pittsburgh police will move to 12-hour shifts during election week
Pittsburgh Police will move to 12-hour shifts beginning the day before the Nov. 3 election and remain on that schedule for nearly a week, officials said Wednesday. In an email, Public Safety spokeswoman Cara Cruz said the department “acknowledges that there is a heightened level of interest” in how police...
Pa. election officials stress security precautions, warn against voter intimidation
Threatening emails purported to be from a far-right, neo-fascist group that targeted voters in Pennsylvania, Arizona, Florida and Alaska may have originated in the Baltics. While the email appeared to come from the Proud Boys, an analysis of the metadata suggested it originated in Estonia, the New York Times reported....
Worsening opioid crisis overshadowed in presidential race
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Like millions of Americans, Diane Urban watched the first presidential debate last month at home with her family. When it was over, she turned off the television and climbed into the bed her 25-year-old son Jordan used to sleep in. It was where she found Jordan’s lifeless...
Mission impossible? Kristen Welker on tap to moderate 2nd debate
NEW YORK — This fall’s presidential debates have chewed up moderators. President Donald Trump steamrolled Chris Wallace with constant interruptions in the first one, a performance that cost the Republican incumbent support in the polls. Susan Page struggled to make the vice presidential candidates adhere to time limits their campaigns...
Poll: Many in U.S. distrust campaign info
In a presidential election year that has thrown the country’s divisions into stark relief, Americans can agree on this: Misinformation about government and politics is a major problem. A new survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Opinion Research and USAFacts finds that while voters say it’s pretty easy...
Barack Obama to hold his first in-person event for Biden in Philadelphia
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Barack Obama is returning to Philadelphia on Wednesday for his first in-person 2020 campaign event for Joe Biden. In 2016, the man known as one of the Democratic Party’s strongest orators delivered Hillary Clinton’s closing argument in the same place — at a rally for...
Trump tends to his electoral map, Biden prepping for debate
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is hopping from one must-win stop on the electoral map to the next in the leadup to a final presidential debate that may be his last, best chance to alter the trajectory of the 2020 campaign. Democrat Joe Biden has been taking the opposite approach,...
Westmoreland GOP rally short on candidatesVideo
Tuesday’s Westmoreland County Republican Committee rally in Hempfield was short on candidates but strong on local party support. More than 50 GOP faithful attended the evening event, spilling from the main room of All Saints Brewing Co. onto the patio. Committee Chairman Bill Bretz, who expressed confidence in county support...
Westmoreland sheriff wants deputies to patrol polling places on Election Day, in case needed
Westmoreland County Sheriff James Albert on Tuesday said he will assign deputies to patrol near the county’s 307 polling locations on Election Day. The first-term sheriff said he has received no specific information about threats but he wants deputies at the ready should disturbances or calls of voter intimidation arise...
Photo altered to Ice Cube, 50 Cent in ‘Trump 2020’ hats
An altered photo of rappers Ice Cube and 50 Cent in hats that appear to show support for President Donald Trump circulated widely on social media Tuesday, fueled in part by a tweet by Eric Trump. “Two great, courageous Americans,” Trump’s son tweeted. He removed the tweet with a photo...
Republicans see bright spot in 2020 voter registration push
The Republican Party has cut into Democrats’ advantage in voter registration tallies across some critical presidential battleground states, a fact they point to as evidence of steady — and overlooked — enthusiasm for President Donald Trump and his party. Even though Trump trails in national polls and struggles with fundraising...
Allegheny County Elections Office offering expanded hours before Election Day
The Allegheny County Elections Division on Tuesday announced expanded hours for voters to apply for, receive and return absentee and mail-in ballots before Election Day. For those who prefer to cast their ballots on Election Day, 1,323 polling places will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Nov....
Democrat Tony DeLoreto challenges incumbent Republican Joe Pittman in 41st Senate District
State Sen. Joe Pittman, R-Indiana, is facing his first reelection challenge just 16 months after being sworn in to represent the 41st Senate District. Democrat Tony DeLoreto, a restaurateur from Indiana, is looking to knock off Pittman. Pittman has been representing the district since June 2019 after winning a special...
More ballot delays in Westmoreland County
More delays in the mailing of ballots to Westmoreland voters ahead of the Nov. 3 general election could prompt county commissioners to take back control over the process that was shipped out-of-state last month. Commissioner Sean Kertes said Monday internal discussions are underway to have elections bureau staff at the...
Pa. could become ‘ground zero’ for court battles on — and after — Election Day
Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — In the weeks leading up to November’s historic election, there has been one constant: lawsuits and court decisions that...
Ballot box fire in Los Angeles County may be arson, officials say
LOS ANGELES — An official ballot drop box at the Baldwin Park, Calif., library ignited Sunday night, potentially destroying election ballots inside, authorities said. The fire started around 8 p.m. Sunday at the ballot box near Ramona and Baldwin Park boulevards, according to Los Angeles County Fire Department spokeswoman Leslie...
Florida begins early voting with no major problems reported
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Floridians began early voting in much of the state Monday with no serious problems reported as the Trump campaign tries to cut into an early advantage Democrats have posted in mail-in votes in the key swing state. The most populous counties reported wait times of 15...
Prospects dim for critical election bill in Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG — With 15 days until the presidential election, Republican lawmakers in the battleground state of Pennsylvania appeared unwilling Monday to authorize counties to process mail-in ballots before Election Day, seen as crucial to producing a prompt election result. A spokesperson for the House Republican majority said in a statement...
Democrats plunge cash into U.S. House race in suburban Philadelphia
HARRISBURG — Democrats are showing that they think they can beat second-term Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick in a politically divided U.S. House district just north of Philadelphia. The major Democratic super PAC helping elect Democrats to the House filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission that it is spending nearly...
Allegheny County election phone lines jammed with more than 7,000 calls a day
If you have a question about voting in Allegheny County and want to talk to someone on the phone, be prepared to get a busy signal or wait a while. “We have expanded phone lines, are utilizing a call center and a queue, but the demand is still greater. We...
