As voters throughout the City of Brotherly Love head out to the polls to participate in Tuesday’s midterm elections, the city’s Election Protection Task Force, of the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, is set to share a morning update on how voting is going at polling places citywide.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner unveiled the task force for this year’s elections last week.
The move came after the Department of Justice announced plans to send election monitors to certain parts of Pennsylvania, including Philadelphia and Lehigh County, for the upcoming midterm election.
Krasner and members of the task force are expected to share a morning update on how voting is going throughout Philly at 10:30 a.m. The event will be livestreamed at the top of this article.
In announcing the team last week, officials with the DA’s office said the task force will be working throughout the day on Tuesday to monitor polling places across Philadelphia to ensure there are no issues impacting the right to vote for any Philadelphia resident — no matter how they intend to vote.
Krasner has said that, if issues are found during the day, or if anyone is caught interfering with the elections, they will “pay a price” for it.
“Make no mistake, we got teeth and we are going to use them if we need to use them,” he said at that time. “If people want to F around, they are going to find out, it’s that simple.”
Law enforcement officials have said, as part of this effort, there will be uniformed officers patrolling polling places across the city in order to respond to any potential issues, like threats or harassment concerns on Election Day.
There will be an investigative unit that will monitor issues on Tuesday, as well.
The District Attorney’s Office shared a message on social media featuring Krasner ahead of Tuesday’s elections.
Voters who encounter any irregularities at their polling location can call the DAO Election Task Force hotline: 215–686–9641. Also, the state has set up a form where voter interference or intimidation on Election Day can be reported here.
Voters are also encouraged to contact the national nonpartisan Election Protection hotline: 866-OUR-VOTE.
Voters with questions about the election process should contact the Philadelphia City Commissioners’ Office at 215-686-VOTE.
Should voters encounter any violence or physical threats at their polling station, they are urged to call 9-1-1 immediately.
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