March 17, 2025Commonwealth Media Services‘Serious consequences’: Pennsylvania official warns feds against cuts to election security programsby Carter Walker of VotebeatIn a letter to the homeland security secretary, Al Schmidt cites critical help local election officials get from the U.S. cybersecurity agency CISA.
March 10, 2025Matt Smith / For Spotlight PANot enough candidates run for elected poll worker positions in Pennsylvaniaby Carter Walker of VotebeatUnlike most states, Pennsylvania elects people to oversee voting at the precinct level. That keeps one political party from controlling the process, though there are also downsides.
March 7, 2025Commonwealth Media ServicesElection changes needed as Pa. counties struggle with outdated rules, top Shapiro admin official saysby Carter Walker of VotebeatSecretary Al Schmidt talks about the 2024 election, how lawmakers should approach updating voting rules, and more.
March 5, 2025Commonwealth Media ServicesOverhaul of Pa.’s glitchy voter registration system moves forward after contract cancellation, delaysby Carter Walker of VotebeatThe state’s voter registration system will be revamped and integrated with other election systems under a new $10.6 million contract.
Feb. 21, 2025Kent M. Wilhelm / Spotlight PARepublicans have a chance to transform the Pa. Supreme Court this yearby Stephen Caruso of Spotlight PA and Carter Walker of VotebeatJudicial retention elections in Pennsylvania are usually sleepy. But this year, Republicans say they’re going all in to unseat three Democratic Supreme Court justices.
Feb. 18, 2025Daniel Fishel / For Spotlight PAPa. primary election 2025: Everything you need to know about running for local public officeby Min Xian of Spotlight PA State CollegeThe nomination petition period opens Feb. 18 for Pennsylvania’s 2025 municipal primary election. Races on the ballot include school boards, township supervisors, borough council members, and more.
Feb. 14, 2025Matt Smith / For Spotlight PAFact check: It’s not illegal — and not uncommon — for voters to be registered in two statesby Carter Walker of VotebeatConservative activist Scott Presler’s claim about duplicate voter registration fails to account for the laws and basic processes involved in cleaning voter rolls.
Feb. 4, 2025Matt Smith / For Spotlight PALetting voters fix mail ballots cuts rejection rates. Not all Pa. counties allow it.by Carter Walker of VotebeatCounties rejected just 0.57% of mail ballots due to voter errors, such as a missing signature, during the 2024 election. That number was even lower in “curing” counties.
Jan. 30, 2025Commonwealth Media ServicesEfforts to replace Pa.’s outdated, glitchy voter registration system are months behind scheduleby Carter Walker of VotebeatThe state’s top election official, Al Schmidt, told lawmakers a contract for a new system would be in place last fall.
Jan. 15, 2025Jared Wickerham / For Spotlight PAExpanded voter ID, mail ballot changes on the table as Pa. lawmakers begin new sessionby Carter Walker of VotebeatOne top lawmaker hopes Donald Trump’s election will open up space for more fruitful legislative talks during the two-year session.
Jan. 3, 2025Amanda Berg / For Spotlight PASpecial elections cost Pa. at least $1M last legislative sessionby Stephen Caruso of Spotlight PAJust two of the 10 previous sessions — a span of 20 years — saw more special elections than this one.
Dec. 31, 2024Matt Smith / For Spotlight PAA small group of donors dominated these high-profile Pa. races during the 2024 electionby Kate Huangpu of Spotlight PAGroups associated with billionaire Jeff Yass, the Democratic Party, and those that don’t reveal their donors spent nearly $40M on critical races.
Dec. 20, 2024Kriston Jae Bethel / For VotebeatFacing Trump threats, Al Schmidt defended Pa.’s 2020 election as free, fair, and secure. He believes the same about 2024.by Carter Walker of VotebeatAl Schmidt’s life was arguably upended by Trump’s fury in 2020. Still, he had no qualms certifying Trump’s 2024 victory.
Dec. 10, 2024Commonwealth Media ServicesRepublicans are thinking about who will run for Pa. governor in 2026. One name tops lists.by Katie Meyer of Spotlight PAStacy Garrity was first elected treasurer in 2020 and Republican insiders say she built a broad coalition that merges Trump and never-Trump wings of the party.
Dec. 9, 2024Commonwealth Media ServicesElections 101: Meet Trump’s 2024 electors and learn about the Electoral Collegeby Sarah Anne Hughes of Spotlight PADonald Trump’s electors — five of whom joined a “fake” slate in 2020 — will meet in Harrisburg on Dec. 17.
Dec. 4, 2024Matt Smith / For Spotlight PAPa. certifies 2024 election results as Trump electors prepare to meet in Harrisburgby Carter Walker of VotebeatMore than 7 million Pennsylvanians cast ballots in the 2024 election — a turnout rate of nearly 77%.
Nov. 27, 2024Commonwealth Media ServicesDemocrats in Pennsylvania had a horrible 2024 election. They say it's still a swing stateby Associated PressThe introspection over voters' rejection of Democrats comes amid growing speculation about Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as a contender for the party's 2028 presidential nomination.
Nov. 26, 2024Amanda Berg / For Spotlight PAHow did Democrats keep their Pa. House majority during a red wave? Redistricting is part of the answer.by Kate Huangpu of Spotlight PAPennsylvania’s state House map makes districts politically representative, but less competitive. This makes it hard for either party to get a big majority.
Nov. 25, 2024Jared Wickerham / For Spotlight PAInvestigations across Pa. into suspicious voter registration forms yield no charges yetby Carter Walker of VotebeatIn the lead-up to Election Day, five counties said they were looking into 100s of potentially fraudulent voter registration forms.
Nov. 22, 2024Commonwealth Media Services, courtesy campaignPennsylvania calls off recount in U.S. Senate race after Casey concedes to McCormickby Carter Walker of VotebeatIncumbent U.S. Sen. Bob Casey asked for the recount to be ended, the Pennsylvania Department of State told counties
Nov. 21, 2024Matt Smith / For Spotlight PAThe latest on the Casey-McCormick U.S. Senate recountby Carter Walker of VotebeatThe recount of roughly 7 million ballots in the U.S. Senate race got fully underway this week, with some counties already finished.
Nov. 18, 2024Matt Smith / For Spotlight PAHigh court tells Pa. counties not to accept undated mail ballots for November electionby Sarah Anne Hughes of Spotlight PA and Carter Walker of VotebeatThree counties were planning to include improperly dated ballots in their Nov. 5 results.
Nov. 15, 2024Matt Smith / For Spotlight PANew court fight erupts over Pennsylvania’s ballot dating requirement ahead of key recountby Carter Walker of VotebeatA few Pennsylvania counties opted to accept and count undated or misdated ballots, prompting a challenge from Republicans.
Nov. 15, 2024Illustration by Leise Hook / For Spotlight PAFour formerly undecided Pennsylvanians tell us how they votedby Stephen Caruso, Kate Huangpu, and Katie Meyer of Spotlight PAAhead of the 2024 election, Spotlight PA spoke to undecided voters. We followed up with four of them to see what they decided.
Nov. 13, 2024Courtesy campaignsPennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race is getting a recount. Here’s how it will work.by Carter Walker of VotebeatDemocrat Bob Casey was trailing Republican Dave McCormick by roughly 30,000 votes Wednesday afternoon.
Nov. 13, 2024Matt Smith / For Spotlight PAElections 101: Voting is over. Audits, certification, and possible recounts are next.by Carter Walker of VotebeatWhile a recount looms in the Pennsylvania Senate race, counties have other post-election responsibilities.
Nov. 11, 2024Alex Brandon / APRacist text messages referencing slavery raise alarms in Pa., other statesby Associated PressMiddle school students in Montgomery County, PA, received racist messages, a Lower Merion School District official said.
Nov. 11, 2024Commonwealth Media ServicesHow did Pa. Dems keep the state House during a red wave? Meet Frank Burns.by Stephen Caruso and Katie Meyer of Spotlight PAAmid a red wave, a Pa. Democrat held his House seat in a Trump stronghold, and helped his party keep the chamber.
Nov. 8, 2024Matt Smith / For Spotlight PAEfforts to challenge Pennsylvania voters’ mail ballot applications fizzleby Carter Walker of VotebeatMore than 4,000 Pa. voters had their eligibility to vote questioned over residency. They got a chance to fight back.
Nov. 8, 2024Jared Wickerham / For Spotlight PADemocrats will again control Pennsylvania House after holding on to one-seat majorityby Stephen Caruso and Kate Huangpu of Spotlight PAThe Pennsylvania House will remain under Democratic control in 2025 as the party held on to all 102 of its seats — including one in Trump country.