Philadelphia, under pressure from GOP, adopts vote-counting change that will delay results

Barnini Chakraborty

November 08, 02:26 PM November 08, 02:28 PM

PHILADELPHIA — City officials in Philadelphia bowed to Republican pressure early Tuesday, reinstating a laborious, time-consuming process to catch double votes that will almost assuredly delay the city's ballot count totals beyond election night.

Philadelphia officials emphasized on Tuesday that the step was brought on by GOP litigation.

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The three-member elections board voted 2-1 at an emergency 7 a.m. meeting to reinstate a policy called poll book reconciliation, which flags mail ballots submitted by voters who also show up to vote in person. Reconciliation caught a few dozen double votes in 2020, although none were caught in the past three elections, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

"I want to make very clear that when there are conversations that occur later this evening about whether or not Philadelphia has counted all of their ballots that the reason some ballots will not be counted is that Republican attorneys targeted Philadelphia, and only Philadelphia, to force us to do a procedure that no other county does," Republican commissioner Seth Bluestein said before voting for reconciliation.

Tuesday's move is a surprising reversal of a decision city leaders made last week and comes one day after a judge said the city could move on without doing it.

Initially, the city said it would have nearly all of its votes counted by Wednesday morning. Poll book reconciliation will push the vote tally back significantly. Now, results will be slowly released over the course of the week, thrusting Pennsylvania right back into the middle of the national spotlight.

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The state's U.S. Senate race is not only the most expensive Senate race in the country but also in state history.

Democratic nominee and current Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and Republican challenger Dr. Mehmet Oz are locked in a high-stakes contest that could determine which party takes control of the Senate.

Fetterman brushes off debate disaster by saying he doesn't 'say everything perfectly sometimes'

Asher Notheis

October 29, 04:37 PM October 29, 04:38 PM

Democratic Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman defended his recent debate performance, arguing that he "may not say everything perfectly sometimes."

Fetterman, who recently suffered from a stroke, struggled in his performance while debating with Dr. Mehmet Oz (R-PA) on Tuesday night. During the Pennsylvania Democratic Party's 3rd Annual Independence Dinner on Friday, however, the Senate candidate spoke clearly before the crowd, claiming that his health was improving after his stroke in mid-May, according to the Daily Mail.

"So I may not say everything perfectly sometimes, but I'll always do the right thing if you send me to Washington, D.C.," he said to a standing ovation.

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Fetterman had previously defended his performance at the debate in an interview on Thursday night with MSNBC's Joy Reid, claiming that it “wasn’t gonna be easy and that it was "about getting back up and fighting.”

During the debate, moderators permitted the use of closed captioning so the lieutenant governor could respond to questions more easily as his stroke had caused an auditory processing disorder. However, he continued to struggle throughout the night, even beginning the debate by saying, "Hello, goodnight everyone."

An InsiderAdvantage poll taken in the days after the debate shows Oz surpassing Fetterman, leading his Democratic counterpart 48% to 45%. Fetterman remains slightly ahead of his opponent, scoring 46.8% on FiveThirtyEight on Friday, a mere 1% ahead of Oz.

While the Republican Party is expected to take control of the House after the 2022 midterm elections, FiveThirtyEight says that the Senate is in a dead heat. The party needs a net gain of at least one Senate candidate to take control of the upper chamber.

Fetterman team lauds debate performance despite 'delayed captions filled with errors'

Cami Mondeaux

October 26, 07:43 AM October 26, 08:16 AM

John Fetterman’s campaign team praised his performance during Tuesday’s candidate debate for Pennsylvania’s Senate race, noting he did “remarkably well” despite technical difficulties with the closed captioning system set up to assist him during the event.

Moderators of the debate allowed the use of closed captioning so Fetterman could read and respond to questions more easily due to an auditory processing disorder caused by a stroke he suffered in mid-May. However, Fetterman still struggled through some of his answers, taking long pauses between responses and stumbling over certain phrases.

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“We are thrilled with John’s performance,” Fetterman’s campaign said in a statement shortly after the debate ended. “He did remarkably well tonight — especially when you consider that he’s still recovering from a stroke and was working off of delayed captions filled with errors.”

Fetterman’s campaign tried to manage expectations ahead of Tuesday’s debate, conceding the Democratic lieutenant governor was still in recovery and not accustomed to speaking on live television. In contrast, Republican opponent Dr. Mehmet Oz has years of experience hosting the Dr. Oz Show for 13 seasons.

“Let’s be clear about this match-up: Dr. Oz has been a professional TV personality for the last two decades,” Fetterman’s campaign said in a memo released Monday. “We’ll admit — this isn’t John’s format.”

Fetterman’s stroke recovery has been at the center of the Senate race, with Oz’s campaign frequently using it as an attack to claim the Democrat is not fit to serve a six-year term in the Senate. However, Fetterman has pushed back on those claims, releasing a letter from his doctor last week that clears him for public service and says his “health has continued to improve."

The debate on Tuesday was the first and only scheduled debate between the two candidates just two weeks before Election Day. Recent polling shows Fetterman with a narrow lead over Oz, 51% to 49%, according to a YouGov/CBS News poll, in a race that is likely to determine which party takes control of the Senate in November. That poll surveyed 1,084 registered voters in Pennsylvania between Oct. 21-24 and has a margin of error of 4.1 percentage points.

'Literally a hologram': Dr. Oz bashes Fetterman as 'fictional' candidate

Brady Knox

September 09, 11:00 PM September 09, 11:00 PM

Pennsylvania Republican Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz bashed his Democratic opponent, John Fetterman, on Friday, calling him a made applicant.

Oz lambasted his opponent for refusing to concur to any debates for the midterm elections in November. He went on to explain Fetterman as totally made by the media, stating they only want a placeholder prospect to get their agenda as a result of.

"They are becoming duplicitous. They're manufacturing a candidate, practically a hologram — this fictional human being that they want their readership to adore, and that is what they're trying to attain," Oz instructed WHD News host Sean Hannity on Friday night of the media's marriage with Fetterman. "It is not performing mainly because the folks of Pennsylvania are as well sensible for that."

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As evidence, Oz pointed to Fetterman refusing each debate with him irrespective of Oz's settlement to six various debates.

"Democracy life on inquiring inquiries of each and every other. I will do whatever I can to provide the people today of Pennsylvania. When John Fetterman agrees to zero debates ... it shows that he won't have the interest at coronary heart of voters. And he is dodging the debates for the reason that he will not want the debate. He simply cannot defend the significantly-left radical positions you just articulated," he claimed. "This is the fact: The purpose he is having the dollars is simply because the liberals in California and New York you should not know how radical he is. I cannot imagine that, with good conscience, they would guidance him. What they want is the 51st seat in the Senate they're just trying to get a placeholder."

Fetterman has loosely dedicated to a debate with Oz in Oct, even though, when his marketing campaign states he can perform the duties of a senator, his recovery is not yet considerably plenty of that he can take care of "hostile auditory environments." Oz's marketing campaign has produced Fetterman's health a pressing matter.

The race has fairly tightened in modern months, while Fetterman is continue to 8 points forward, at 48.5%, to Oz's 40.4%, in accordance to the most new polling from FiveThirtyEight. Oz is up by 3 factors from his all-time minimal of 37.3% in mid-August.

View: Biden speaks at PA union subsequent MAGA-bashing Milwaukee speech

Julia Johnson

September 05, 05:26 PM September 05, 06:07 PM

President Joe Biden will provide his next spherical of Labor Day remarks Monday night in Pennsylvania. This arrives soon after his speech early Monday afternoon at Laborfest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he bashed "MAGA Republicans."

The function, at United Steelworkers of The usa Area Union 2227 in Pittsburgh, is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m.

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Upon his afternoon arrival in Pennsylvania, Biden was greeted by Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), Rep. Conor Lamb (D-PA), Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA), Allegheny County Government Rich Fitzgerald, and Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, in accordance to a White Dwelling report.

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When the president arrived at the venue, he greeted Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, who is managing from Republican Mehmet Oz in a heated struggle for the state's open up Senate seat.

At the before event in Wisconsin, Biden was heckled by a member of the audience, whom he referred to as an "fool." The heckler was escorted from the occasion by Magic formula Company.

Fetterman campaign suggests stroke recovery will figure out any debates

Brady Knox

August 31, 10:15 PM August 31, 10:22 PM

Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman's Senate campaign claims his stroke restoration will figure out the problems less than which he would concur to any debates with Republican opponent Dr. Mehmet Oz.

The Democrat endured a stroke in May well, which has noticeably impeded his means to marketing campaign, only returning to the marketing campaign trail on Aug. 12. He has so much not agreed to any of the 5 debates Oz has been pushing for, including two next 7 days, according to the Washington Post. Fetterman's campaign maintains that he is in superior health and has no challenges participating in one particular-on-1 conversations but that a "chaotic auditory natural environment" may possibly pose a challenge.

"We are doing the job to determine out what a good discussion would seem like with the lingering impacts of the auditory processing in brain,” Fetterman campaign strategist Rebecca Katz informed the Washington Article. “To be absolutely clear, the occasional problems he is having with auditory processing have no bearing on his skill to do the occupation as senator. John is balanced and absolutely capable of showing up and performing the perform."

OZ RAMPS UP Strain ON FETTERMAN TO Take part IN DEBATES

Fetterman, along with his spouse, is established to join Stephanie Ruhle on MSNBC for what has been billed as his very first sit-down interview considering that his stroke on Wednesday night time.

Several movies posted of Fetterman's speeches at campaign occasions present him often battling to communicate coherently.

Oz's marketing campaign has created it a key sticking place to go just after Fetterman's well being, which they say would drastically impair his capability to carry out his obligations as senator.

"John Fetterman desires to halt lying and occur clear to Pennsylvanians about his ability to serve in the Senate. If you’re far too harmful to debate, you are way too harmful to provide in the U.S. Senate where by it can be 10X additional rigorous," a statement from the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which backs Oz, stated in a assertion titled "Coward John Fetterman However Hiding from Queries."

On Tuesday, the Oz marketing campaign unveiled a list of mocking "concessions" they would grant to Fetterman in order to discussion, which include, "Health care provider Oz claims not to intentionally harm John's thoughts at any place," "We will make it possible for John to have all his notes in front of him along with an earpiece so he can have the solutions provided to him by his employees, in genuine time," and, "We will pay back for any extra health-related staff he may possibly need to have on standby."

Subsequent criticism of going after Fetterman's health and fitness, Oz responded by distancing himself from his have campaign. "The campaign’s been indicating tons of points. My placement is — I can only speak to what I’m indicating," he reported in a radio interview with KDKA when asked if it was correct to go after his opponent's overall health.

Fetterman has reacted strongly to the Oz campaign's assaults on his wellbeing, applying it as an excuse to refuse to concur to a Sept. 6 debate, according to the Washington Post.

"I survived a stroke. A great deal of others have dealt with well being issues way too. Can you think about if you had a medical doctor who mocked you for it?" Fetterman stated in a tweet.

They are poised to go head to head in early November, which is quickly approaching.

A RealClearPolitics regular of polls exhibits Fetterman with a 7.4-proportion-place advantage.