What to know about election monitoring, ballot security ahead of midterms

Name: What to know about election monitoring, ballot security ahead of midterms
Uploaded: 2026-10-28T01:16:14.441Z
Duration: 2 min 9 s
Channel: 6abc Philadelphia

6abc Philadelphia

1.2K followers

Oct 28, 2026 #politics #election #fyp

With Election Day one week away and closely contested races drawing national attention, Pennsylvania election officials and civic leaders are working to ensure voters understand the voting process, including the role of federal election monitors and ballot security measures.

Officials said the U.S. Department of Justice plans to send federal election monitors to Pennsylvania as part of a nationwide effort that includes Philadelphia.

The announcement prompted concern among some voters who worried about potential voter intimidation. #politics #election #fyp
https://6abc.com/post/what-know-election-monitoring-ballot-security-ahead-midterms/19986216/

We are now one week from Election Day, and with the balance of power in Washington at stake, our area will again be in the national spotlight with tightly contested races that could go either way. Today, officials want to make sure voters are ready, and we've learned the Department of Justice now plans to send federal election monitors here to Pennsylvania. Action News reporter Chad Pardelli live in studio this afternoon with more on what their role will be at the polling place, Chad. Yeah, Brian, when the DOJ announced 1,000 election monitors nationwide, including here in Philadelphia, some voters were alarmed, worried about voter intimidation. But administrations of both parties have done this in the past, and there are laws to protect voter integrity. Election monitors have a duty, assure compliance with voting laws, including accessibility for the elderly and handicapped. Lauren Cristella is CEO of the Civic Reform Nonprofit Committee of 70 here in Philadelphia. They cannot do mass challenges. They cannot intimidate voters. They're not even allowed to speak to the voters. They'd have to interact with the judge of elections in each polling place, just like any other certified poll watcher. These are the tabulators. Inside the city's office and election warehouse, City Commissioner Seth Blustein, who is the lone Republican city commissioner, stresses our elections here in Philadelphia are safe and secure. Voting machines are tested prior to deployment to polling locations, and ballot audits are done at the state and local level. We have a lot of security surrounding the building. We have 24-7 guards in place now that we have ballots returned to us and here waiting to be counted on Election Day. The County Board of Elections has a 5 p.m. application deadline today to receive a mail-in ballot. Bluestein warns getting it returned via mail by next week's Tuesday 8 p.m. deadline does not allow for a lot of turnaround time. If you still have your ballot in hand or are about to receive it, is that you find one of our 38 drop boxes around the city. and you return your ballot via Dropbox. And we have a link to the Dropbox locations and the phone numbers you need if you have an election complaint on our website at 6abc.com. I'm Chad Pardelli, Channel 6 Action News.