John Fetterman greeted volunteers and supporters Monday morning in West Oak Lane as they prepared to knock on doors ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections.
“My entire political career was started with one vote,” said Fetterman, referring to his single-ballot margin when he first ran to be mayor of Braddock, a town in Western Pennsylvania, in 2005.
“There is just so much at stake in this race right now,” added the Democrat and Pennsylvania’s current lieutenant governor.
Candidates on Monday crisscrossed Pennsylvania, with a particular emphasis on the Philadelphia area, in an attempt to get out the vote on Election Day.
Mehmet Oz, Fetterman’s GOP opponent in the U.S. Senate contest, was set to hold a rally Monday night in Montgomery County alongside Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and Trump administration diplomat.
“I believe in the American Dream, and I believe in all of you. That’s why I’m asking for your vote tomorrow,” Oz tweeted alongside a newly-released video where he mentions concerns about inflation and crime.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano’s election eve schedule included stops at a winery and restaurant, both in Bucks County.
“We feel really good about winning,” he told the right-wing Newsmax media outlet.
Attorney General Josh Shapiro, the Democratic nominee, campaigned Monday with former City Councilmember and mayoral candidate Cherelle Parker. “I’m running against an extremist looking to take our state back decades,” he said on social media.
Near Independence Hall, local leaders and law enforcement officials gathered to warn that anyone plotting to intimidate voters or disrupt ballot-counting would be prosecuted.
“At any point post-January 6th, you have to view an election as being a time when there should be a heightened level of security and attention,” District Attorney Larry Krasner said.
He mentioned Joshua Macias and Antonio LaMotta, two Virginia men who were convicted of weapons charges after being arrested with guns outside the Pennsylvania Convention Center while workers were counting votes following the 2020 presidential election.
A judge found them not guilty of election-related crimes, but they will be sentenced next month on the firearms offenses.
Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said the PPD will have roaming teams of officers prepared to respond to calls at voting locations. Those officers, she said, will be equipped with body-worn cameras and accompanied by police supervisors.
Officers are not permitted to patrol within 100 feet of a polling place unless they are invited in to handle a safety issue.
The DAO’s Election Task Force has been in communication with police, state authorities and the FBI and will remain activated until results are certified, Assistant District Attorney Brian Collins said.
More than 50 ADAs and detectives will be available to investigate election-related complaints, according to Krasner’s office.
Among the most common is illegal electioneering. People are not allowed to advocate for specific candidates inside the polling place or within 10 feet of the room where the voting machines are set up.
Residents can call 215-686-9641 to report issues outside the polling place. For complaints about behavior inside voting locations, people can call 215-685-1590. Call 911 if there is violence or safety risks, officials said.
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. To find your voting location, go to atlas.phila.gov/voting and type in your address.
Anyone who has a mail-in ballot that has not submitted it should take their vote to one of the city’s 17 drop-off boxes.
The City Commissioners have published an updated list of voters who sent in flawed mail ballots at vote.phila.gov. Anyone on the list can correct their ballots by visiting Room 140 at City Hall between 7:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Affected voters who cannot make it to City Hall can cast a provisional ballot at their polling place.
Philadelphians, in addition to governor and U.S. Senate, will be voting for candidates running for Congress, City Council, state senator and state representative, as well as answering two ballot questions.
