(Ambridge, Pa.) Beaver County citizen’s headed to the polls early this morning to cast their vote in one of the most anticipated elections of our time. Eddy Crow host of Teleforum reported that he got in line at the Ambridge Borough Building to vote at 6:55 and the line was already long as you can see in the above photo. One caller to AM Beaver County with Matt Drzik named Dean reported that he was first in line to vote at his precinct and the line was already forming as he was leaving. The polls opened at 7 a.m. this morning and will remain open until until 8 p.m. tonight. If you chose to do mail in ballot and have not received your ballot yet you can go to your polling place and vote with a provisional ballot. You can also hand deliver your ballot to the Beaver County Elections Bureau in the Beaver County Courthouse. The Beaver County Commissioners also said that there will be a secure drop box at the court house that you can place your ballot in. You have until 8pm tonight to do any of the options to vote. Stay tuned to Beaver County Radio as we continue to cover this historic election.

Keystone State News Connection

Surge in Mail-In Ballots Will Slow PA Count

Andrea Sears

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A new report suggests the record number of mail-in ballots for this election will take more time to count and may shift election results as they are tallied.

More than three million Pennsylvanians requested mail-in ballots for today’s election, and by Monday almost 2.5 million had been returned to county election offices.

Claire Kovach, senior research analyst at the Keystone Research Center, said that’s 13 times the number of mail-in ballots returned for the 2016 general election, and by law, election officials couldn’t start counting them until today.

“Even though a lot of counties have ramped up the number of people they’ve hired to help process these, it’s still very time-consuming and many counties won’t even start to count their mail-in ballots until after Election Day,” Kovach explained.

In her report, she urged voters to be patient, noting that it took six days to count mail-in votes for the June primary and three weeks to certify the results.

Kovach said Pennsylvania Democrats are three times more likely to cast mail-in ballots than Republicans, causing what is known as a “Blue Shift” toward Democrats as those ballots are counted.

“Pennsylvanians should be wary of early pundit projections or any candidates from any party claiming an early victory,” Kovach cautioned. “Especially on Election Night because every eligible ballot that is cast must be counted.”

She said the record number of mail-in ballots for this election means the tally could change significantly as those are counted in the days after Election Day.

Kathy Boockvar, Pennsylvania Secretary of State, urged county election officials to include the number of uncounted ballots and to update their totals as mail-in ballots are counted.

Kovach believes that will give voters a clearer picture of the process.

“If you report the mail-in ballot counts along the way rather than all at once, it would really help prevent a jarring, instant swing in election results which Americans aren’t really used to,” Kovach suggested.

She added shifts in results as votes are counted are not a sign of fraud, but rather a clear indication that our democracy is working.

(Ambridge, Pa.) Dr. Joseph W. Pasquerilla sent a letter to parents of students attending Highland Elementary School notifying that a staff member has tested positive for COVID- 19. The school is closed beginning today.  He said that the RAPID RESPONSE TEAM has been contacted . ,and the school will remain closed until they get  directions from PA DOH.

(Beaver Falls, Pa.) Kelin J. Coleman, 26, Beaver Falls was arrested  without incident on Friday in connection  with the shooting outside Whiskey Rythm Bar on Penn Ave. in Monaca on July 11. He was arrested without incident by Monaca Police, the U.S. Marshall’s Service, PSP, and  Beaver Falls Police.

PA Voters Who Did Not Receive Their Mail Ballot Should Vote at the Polls

Harrisburg, Pa.  – Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar today alerted Pennsylvania voters who applied for but have not received their mail ballot that they can vote by provisional ballot at their polling place on Election Day.

“Do not worry – if you haven’t received your mail or absentee ballot you will not lose your right to vote,” Secretary Boockvar said. “Anyone who hasn’t received their mail ballot should go to their polling place on Election Day and vote by provisional ballot. Your ballot will be counted if you are a qualified voter who has not already cast a ballot.”

Polls are open tomorrow from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voters can find their polling place on the Department of State’s voting website, votesPA.com.

Any voter who has received but not yet returned their mail ballot should do so immediately by hand-delivering it to their county election office, satellite election office or other designated drop-off location. Voted mail ballots will not be accepted at polling places.

Voters must make sure that they enclose their mail ballot first in the white inner secrecy envelope and seal it, then insert the inner envelope into the outer pre-printed return envelope, and sign and complete the voter’s declaration on the outer  envelope. Voters must complete all these steps for their ballot to be counted.

Under Pennsylvania law, voters may only return their own ballots. The only exceptions to this are for voters with a disability who have designated someone in writing to deliver their ballot, or for voters who need an emergency absentee ballot.

Voters who applied for and receive a mail ballot and then decide they want to vote at the polls on Election Day can change their mind, but they should bring their mail or absentee ballot and the outer ballot envelopes to be voided by the poll worker. They may then vote on their county’s voting system.

If a voter applies for a mail ballot but does not return it and does not bring the mail ballot and envelopes with them, they may still vote by provisional ballot at the polls on election day. Their county board of elections will then verify that they did not vote by mail before counting their provisional ballot.

For more information on voting and elections in Pennsylvania, call the Department of State’s toll-free hotline at 1-877-VOTESPA (1-877-868-3772) or visit votesPA.com.

Trump promises court fight over Pennsylvania absentee votes
By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and his reelection campaign are signaling they will pursue an aggressive legal strategy to try to prevent Pennsylvania from counting mailed ballots that are received in the three days after the election. The matter could find its way to the Supreme Court, especially if those ballots could tip the outcome in the battleground state. The three-day extension was ordered by Pennsylvania’s top court. The Supreme Court refused to block it, but several conservative justices have indicated they could revisit the issue after the election. Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar, a Democrat, already has told local elections officials to keep the late-arriving ballots separate, but also to count them.

Another restaurant chain, Friendly’s, hits wall in pandemic
By DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Business Writer
WILBRAHAM, Mass. (AP) — Friendly’s Restaurants, an East Coast dining chain known for its Fribble milkshake and ice cream sundaes, is filing for bankruptcy protection. All 130 of its locations will remain open while in restructures under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Substantially all of its assets are being sold to the restaurant company, Amici Partners Group. The pandemic has hit the restaurant sector hard, particularly those that rely on people in their dining rooms. At least 10 chains have filed for bankruptcy protection since the pandemic began this year. But Friendly’s Restaurant, like most other chains that have stumbled this year, had been struggling. The Wilbraham, Massachusetts, company filed for bankruptcy protection in 2011 as well.