Live election updates on president, Congress, state assembly, row offices and more
Polls are open on Election Day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Check here throughout the day for elections updates from WPSU.
And tune in or stream WPSU-FM tonight for live election coverage from 8 p.m. to midnight.
We'll post results here, but you can also check the PA Department of State website for state level results in the races for attorney general, auditor general, treasurer, state Senate and state House.
Republicans seek to add to their Senate majority in Pennsylvania’s race
Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race between three-term Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and Republican challenger David McCormick could help Republicans pad their newfound majority in the chamber in a battleground state contest that remained uncalled by The Associated Press on Wednesday.
McCormick led vote counting Wednesday morning by about 50,000 votes, or less than 1%, but a significant number of votes remained uncounted. In a statement Wednesday, Casey’s campaign said, “There are more votes that need to be counted in areas like Philadelphia and it’s important that every legal ballot will be counted. When that happens we are confident the senator will be reelected.”
It’s the first time Casey has shared the same ballot as Donald Trump, who won Pennsylvania for a second time in 2024 after winning it in 2016.
Casey, the son of a former two-term governor, is a stalwart of the state’s Democratic Party, having won six statewide elections going back to 1996.
McCormick is making his second run for the Senate after losing narrowly in 2022’s Republican primary. He left his job as CEO of the world’s largest hedge fund to run.
Centre County rescanning some ballots
Centre County elections officials say they’re dealing with a software issue that’s forcing them to rescan about 13,000 mail-in ballots.
They unsuccessfully attempted to transfer the scanned mail-in ballot data several times throughout the night.
Elections staff are beginning the scanning this morning at the Willowbank Building in Bellefonte, which houses the Centre County Elections Office. They will continue until scanning is complete.
Both major parties will have watchers present in the room throughout the process.
Incumbents Glenn Thompson and John Joyce win U.S. House seats, according to AP
Results are unofficial and counties are still tabulating votes, but the Associated Press has called the race for Republican Glenn Thompson in Pennsylvania's U.S. House 15th District, and Republican John Joyce in Pennsylvania's U.S. House 13th District.
Centre County Elections Office continued accepting mail-in ballots until 9 p.m.
Centre County officials say the Elections Office continued accepting mail-in ballots at the Willowbank Elections Office in Bellefonte until 9 p.m., per court order.
Centre County was among a roughly a dozen Pennsylvania counties to receive bomb threats.
Gov. Josh Shapiro remarks on bomb threats
Gov. Josh Shapiro gave brief remarks about several bomb threats against Pennsylvania polling places and municipal buildings this evening.
He said he is in “direct contact” with law enforcement as local and state police investigate, along with the FBI.
“Thus far, there is no credible threat to the public,” Shapiro said.
Temporary evacuation at Centre County Elections Office
Centre County Commissioners say the Willowbank Building in Bellefonte, which houses the Centre County Elections Office, was temporarily evacuated to investigate a bomb threat received via email.
Centre County is among a roughly a dozen Pennsylvania counties to receive threats.
The Willowbank Building was cleared for about an hour while state and local police investigated the threat and swept the building. After completing the sweep, state and local police deemed the threat to be non-credible and allowed employees to return to the building.
As of 8:20 p.m., employees are back in the building and continuing all operations. County Administrator John Franek, Jr., said, “the Elections Office and ballots were under constant supervision while the building was swept.”
Polls are now closed in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania may not finish counting on election night. Read the story by our election misinformation reporter James Engel on why that does not indicate fraud.
Penn State students share who they're voting for - and why
Jack Webber is a first-time voter. He's majoring in nuclear engineering, and said he voted for all Republicans. He worries about potential energy reforms.
"I want to see energy policy be better because I want to be a nuclear engineer," Webber said. "And one of the candidates do not like nuclear power and the other is not directly supporting it but is not directly against it."
Shelby Corbett said she voted for Kamala Harris because she is invested in the education system and women's rights.
"I really hope at the end of the day we can all shake hands and decide, 'Okay, this was democracy," Corbett said.
Corbett said she hopes, regardless of the outcome, people will respect the elected president.
Ryan Klein is president of the Penn State College Republicans. He said the economy is "in shambles" under the Biden-Harris administration.
"I think it's important that we have a leader in the White House who knows how to fix the economic issues we have," Klein said. "That's why I'm proudly voting for President Trump."
Zion Skyes is a senior majoring in global and international studies and political science.
"I hope we are able to better equitably fund our schools," Skyes said.
Skyes said he's mostly concerned about education and poverty. He voted for Kamala Harris.
The polls are open until 8 p.m. You can fill out a ballot as long as you’re in line before the deadline.
WPSU and NPR will have live special coverage of the election starting tonight at 8 p.m.
Presidential election results
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In Centre County, only one major party is committed to accepting election results
Ahead of the election, WPSU election misinformation reporter James Engel asked Centre County Democratic and Republican Committees if they would accept the results of the election. Only one of the parties said they would.
Philly DA reports ‘no major incidents’ as Trump claims cheating
The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office posted on the social media platform on X, formerly known as Twitter, that as of around 5 p.m., “no major incidents have been reported” at polls in the city.
But Donald Trump told his followers on Truth Social there had been a “lot of talk about massive CHEATING,” in the city. “Law enforcement coming!!!” he wrote.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner released a statement shortly after the post calling Trump’s allegations “wild.”
“There is no factual basis whatsoever within law enforcement to support this wild allegation,” he said in a statement. “We have invited complaints and allegations of improprieties all day. If Donald J. Trump has any facts to support his wild allegations, we want them now. Right now. We are not holding our breath.”
A spokesperson for the Philadelphia Police Department said they were not aware of any law enforcement response related to polling places in Philadelphia Tuesday.
The Trump campaign and its allies began claiming voter fraud in Pennsylvania before Election Day. County and state election officials have pushed back on the claims and said the claims were without merit.
Rural Blair County voters disagree on who can fix the economy
WPSU spoke with voters outside polling locations in Altoona, Hollidaysburg and Tyrone.
Most said the economy is their top issue, but not everyone agreed on the best presidential candidate.
Collin Yackuboskey, who lives in Tyrone, said he’s concerned about the national deficit.
“I honestly feel that our best representative to get us out of it would be Donald Trump because of him having all of his business experience," Yackuboskey said.
Nicole Moore, an Altoona voter, said the cost of food is too high and has gotten worse in the past four years. She voted for Kamala Harris.
“I like how she fights for the middle man and like, the lower class people," Moore said.
David Servello is a business owner in Altoona who voted for Donald Trump.
“I've experienced four years of Joe Biden, and you just can't do it anymore," Servello said. "I can't, you know, I've lost employees. They can't afford to earn enough money sometimes to buy products that they're working on making.”
Dale Bridges, who voted in Hollidaysburg, said he voted for Kamala Harris.
"The trouble is that there's too many people that want too much money for very little," Bridges said. "The prices are just going skyrocketed. And you see one price in one store is $3 more than the same item in another store, so something's going on here."
Dush withdraws challenges to dozens of Centre County ballots
State Senator Cris Dush withdrew 77 challenges to ballots protected under the Uniformed Overseas and Citizens Absentee Voter Act during a hearing in Centre County.
The act allows American armed service members or citizens living abroad to cast their vote in federal elections in the district in which they last lived, although they are not entitled to vote in state and local elections.
Dush, of Pennsylvania’s 25th district, originally made 124 challenges, but the Board of Elections said several complaints were duplicates. After the Centre County Board of Elections affirmed the voters were properly registered, Dush withdrew his challenges.
During the hearing, several overseas citizens, like Iliana Baums, who lived in Centre County for many years, expressed their irritation at having their votes challenged.
“I really do not appreciate this. It was a baseless challenge that was clearly meant to disenfranchise voters,” she said. “This is just not ok.”
Dush has a history of challenging ballots and led efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Pennsylvania.
The 77 ballots in Centre County were among 3,700 challenges suddenly launched on Friday throughout the state. York County dismissed 354 challenges in an emergency meeting Monday.
There will be no change in how or when the 77 ballots will be counted.
Voters in Pennsylvania 'seesaw' counties talk about election issues and who's got their vote
Since 2016, 12 counties that had more registered Democrats have flipped to Republican majorities. Only Chester County has flipped the other way. Today, student journalists from the News Lab at Penn State are on the ground speaking to voters in these crucial "seesaw counties" – communities that could determine the outcome of this election.
In Westmoreland County, nearly 40,000 voters have shifted their registration from Democratic to Republican since 2016. That's almost half of President Biden's entire winning margin in Pennsylvania in 2020.
"I just know that the people in my community, the economy, is crushing us," said Kristy Dalnoky, a mother from Washington County. "Just my family alone, we've had to take a second job. My husband has a master's degree from Penn State, and so it doesn't make sense that we're hurting the way that we are. It's like our coffer is just bleeding out."
One precinct in Luzerne County will stay open until 9:30 p.m. due to issues this morning
One Luzerne County polling place will stay open until 9:30 to make up for a 90 minute delay opening Tuesday morning. WVIA’s Sarah Scinto reports.
How ballots get from Pennsylvania precincts to election offices
Police escorts, sealed containers and chain of custody documentation: These are some of the measures that Pennsylvania counties take to secure ballots while they are transported from polling places to county facilities after polls close on Election Day.
The exact protocols vary by county. For instance, in Berks County, poll workers will transport ballots in sealed boxes back to the county elections office, where they will be locked in a secure room, according to Stephanie Nojiri, assistant director of elections for the county located east of Harrisburg.
Polling places around State College say they're seeing high turnout
Polling places in Downtown State College have been busy since polls opened at 7 a.m. this morning. Student and local voters shared who and what they voted for this morning.
Shannon Telenko is a volunteer poll worker at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in downtown State College. She said she heard from those who typically vote early in the day that this is the longest line they’ve seen at the church.
“Get out here and vote, and we'd love to see you," Telenko said.
Blair County NAACP joins branches nationwide in offering voting help
The Blair County branch of the NAACP, along with other branches across the country, is helping voters today on Election Day.
The organization is offering rides to the polls and general election information. To request a ride, Blair County NAACP officers say to contact one of their social media pages.
The NAACP says it also has poll watchers at several voting places to watch for voter intimidation, closed polling locations or for anyone being turned away.
Ballot problems in Cambria County
Cambria County says it encountered issues with its ballot scanners not accepting ballots at polling places this morning, but voters can continue to vote.
Elections officials have moved to a backup system and voting is still going, almost as normal.
All completed ballots will be accepted, secured and counted.
Voters can still hand-mark a paper ballot and place it in a secure box which will be transported to the county office at the end of the day for counting.
Or, voters can use a voting machine usually available for voters with disabilities and have the ballot scanned immediately.
Voting hours will be extended by court order to 10 p.m. for all those seeking to cast a ballot.
Live election returns
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