Austin American Statesman: 14,000 votes in Travis County as of 12 Noon.

Per update on my phone.

7,000 more voted in Travis Country (TX) by 10:00 this morning

Per the Statesman on my phone.

Jon Ralston Washoe County (Reno) update.

Tweet of the Day

People are volunteering to be poll workers in record numbers in Philly and the suburbs

Samantha Connell laughed in disbelief at the automated text message that flashed across her phone earlier this month:

“Philadelphia County is hiring folks to check-in voters and make sure the elections run smoothly here on Nov. 3rd. Are you interested?”

For weeks, Connell, 32, had repeatedly called her local elections office to confirm whether she had been selected as a poll worker. But she kept getting busy tone after busy tone — at least 25 times over several weeks — until she got through, and got the job.

“I was like, ‘Are you sure?’ ” she joked about the text message that came not long after.



https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/poll-workers-volunteers-philadelphia-suburbs-20201019.html

Voters drop off ballots around Allegheny County in a steady stream

Many Allegheny County voters took advantage of the general election’s ballot drop-off points that were open Sunday for mail-in ballots.

Despite the Steelers-Browns football game at Heinz Field, a steady stream of civic-minded people exercised their right to vote before Nov. 3.

Brian Sammon, of Oakland, was waiting in line for an elevator to the sixth floor of the Allegheny County Office Building on Forbes Avenue, where he was going to get a mail-in ballot.

“I vote with a lot of Pitt students, so every election year it is a least a two-hour wait to vote on polling day,” he said.

For that reason, he decided to get his ballot, fill it out, and drop it off Sunday.

With two windows open, lines were moving quickly for those voters who were just dropping off the ballots.

Ballot collectors were making sure that the outside envelopes had been signed. Once ballots were turned in, voters received the coveted “I Voted” sticker.



https://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2020/10/18/A-steady-stream-of-voters-dropped-off-ballots-Sunday/stories/202010190033

Early voting in Ohio adds hours, days this week

Ohio voters who want to cast their ballots ahead of the Nov. 3 general election can do so now with expanded options.

Early voting in the Buckeye State has entered its third week, and weekend hours are included this week, for the first time in the fall. Weekday voting gets one additional hour, too, starting this week, ending at 6 p.m. instead of 5 o’clock as it had the first two weeks.


https://www.daytondailynews.com/news/election-2020-voting-early-heres-everything-you-need-to-know/B7MCTONCJBCORD5EEPQFCAEPUE/

Democrats eye retaking majority on Ohio Supreme Court for first time since 1980s

A pair of Republican conservatives are opposed by Democratic challengers in the Nov. 3 election with a switch in political control of the Ohio Supreme Court possible for the first time in more than three decades.

Republicans have dominated the court since 1987 and hope at least one of the pair of Justices Judith French and Sharon Kennedy win re-election to preserve at least a 4-3 GOP advantage.

If Democrats Jennifer Brunner, a Columbus appellate judge, and John O'Donnell, a Cleveland trial court judge, succeed in winning six-year terms, the party long out of power in the ornate courtroom on Front Street will secure a 4-3 edge.

Both parties are heavily promoting their candidates, in part since the court is likely to review the now-reformed redrawing of legislative and congressional boundaries to replace gerrymandered districts drawn to favor Republicans.



https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/10/19/election-2020-ohio-supreme-court-political-control-line-democrats-challenging-republicans/3710357001/

Cleveland mailing company delays Summit County absentee ballots -- again

The Cleveland mailing company that botched the first 95,000 Summit County absentee ballots earlier this month — mailing them out up to six days late — botched a second batch of 14,000-15,000 ballots that were supposed to be mailed last week.

Midwest Direct — which flew a banner this summer supporting the most vocal critic of voting by mail, President Donald Trump — last week told Summit County election officials that it could turn around the smaller batch of ballots in 48 hours.

Summit County provided Midwest Direct the information for the ballots on Tuesday, Oct. 13; 48 hours passed, and nothing was mailed. The company then said there were more delays and it would mail them Monday, said Bill Rich, chairman of the Summit County Board of Elections (BOE).




https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/news/2020/10/19/trump-supporters-company-delays-summit-county-absentee-ballots-again/5985387002/

Nevada's early voting numbers suggest shift to mail votes

CARSON CITY — With more than two weeks until the election, more than twice as many Nevada voters have returned ballots by mail than in the entire 2016 election.

Nearly 176,000 voters have returned ballots mailed to them in early October, election officials reported Monday. In 2016, less than 79,000 voters cast ballots absentee or in all-mail precincts.

The unprecedented shift toward voting by mail comes two months after state lawmakers passed Assembly Bill 4, which requires election officials to automatically send all active voters mail-in ballots to ensure people afraid of venturing to precincts amid the pandemic could access the vote.

In prior elections, Nevada voters have shown a strong preference for early voting at in-person precincts in the two weeks leading up to Election Day. In 2016, 62% of Nevada voters cast ballots early. During the first two days of early voting that year, about 92,000 voters cast ballots.

Early voting began throughout Nevada on Saturday and, during the first two days, more than 45,000 voters cast ballots in-person. Vote centers will remain open for early voting until Oct. 30.

Based on ballots already returned, the share of voters who cast ballots early, by mail and on Election Day is likely to be different than prior elections, Washoe County Registrar of Voters Deanna Spikula said.



https://lasvegassun.com/news/2020/oct/19/nevadas-early-voting-numbers-suggest-shift-mail-vo/