![\"Voters](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/pennsylvania-election-day-philadelphia-960x640.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nFrom voter intimidation to malfunctioning machines to polls that aren’t open.<\/p>\n
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Voters in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Election Day 2022 \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n
With the midterm elections fast approaching, now is a good time to start coming up with an Election Day plan if you are going to show up at the polls in person. (You can, of course, still vote by mail<\/a>!) Yes, you need to know where to go to vote. (Go here<\/a> to figure that out.) Yes, you should familiarize yourself with the ballot. (Download here<\/a>.) But you should also prepare yourself for all of the various things that can go wrong on Election Day \u2013 and what you can do about them. For that, we give you this handy guide.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a poll worker wearing a Josh Shapiro T-shirt while standing near my voting machine.<\/p>\n That\u2019s called electioneering, and it\u2019s forbidden. There can\u2019t be any campaign materials within 10 feet of the door to the room where the voting machines are or in the room itself. One of the more prominent violations of this came in 2012 thanks to a mural of Barack Obama inside a polling place in Northeast Philadelphia<\/a>. Poll workers had to cover him up. In Philadelphia, you can report instances of electioneering to the District Attorney\u2019s task force at 215-686-9641. Outside of Philadelphia, go here<\/a>.<\/p>\n So I can\u2019t wear my red MAGA cap to the polls?<\/p>\n Rules about buttons, shirts, clothing, and other political attire do not apply to voters \u2014 just poll workers. Wear your MAGA hat. It\u2019s a free country.<\/p>\n A poll worker made a mark on my ballot, and I heard that means my vote will be disqualified.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve seen numerous versions of the following post on social media in advance of Election Day. Here\u2019s one:<\/p>\n A very reliable good friend of mine just finished the poll worker training, and she texted to this to me. When you are checking in at the polls and they happen to write anything on your ballot before they give it to you to put in the voting machine\u2026a letter, a checkmark, a letter star, an R or a D any writing of any kind\u2026 It will cause your ballot to be disqualified. Please forward this to everyone you know. Make sure poll workers do not write on your ballot.<\/p>\n This has been completely and thoroughly debunked<\/a>. It is simply not true. The only reason that a mark made on your ballot by a poll worker would disqualify your ballot is if it made your ballot illegible.<\/p>\n People are trying to hand me political fliers outside my polling place.<\/p>\n We always hear complaints about this. Some people mistakenly think that\u2019s illegal. But it\u2019s fine \u2014 again, unless those people are within 10 feet of the door to the room where the voting machines are located or in the room itself. Same goes for people holding up campaign signs. As long as they aren\u2019t in the voting room or within 10 feet of the door to that room, there\u2019s nothing illegal about it. So let\u2019s say you vote in a classroom inside a school. People can distribute campaign materials and hold up signs even inside the school \u2014 just so long as they are not in the classroom or, yes, within 10 feet of the doorway to said classroom. There\u2019s a lot of confusion over this point, so keep it in mind before you start making a stink. <\/p>\n I\u2019m being intimidated at my polling place!<\/p>\n Voter intimidation is something we\u2019ve become more and more concerned with over the years. And, given recent history, it\u2019s more than reasonable to be concerned that voter intimidation will continue to be a problem. So let\u2019s talk about voter intimidation.<\/p>\n Once, a Philly Mag staffer faced a strange series of questions about his ethnicity and opinions on immigration posed by a poll worker when he went to vote. He reported the incident to the city, because he felt that the poll worker was trying to intimidate him and might similarly intimidate others.<\/p>\n A Bible on display at a polling place \/ Photograph courtesy of Jess Conda<\/p>\n During one Philadelphia election, some voters felt intimidated<\/a> by the presence of a Bible on the table at the polling place. And who can forget the infamous case<\/a> of the New Black Panther Party members who stood outside a Philadelphia polling place in 2008, one of them holding a nightstick? That quickly became national news.<\/p>\n Voter intimidation can be subjective. Somebody yelling at you or physically threatening you at a polling location is pretty clearly a yes for voter intimidation. But other situations, like, say, a Bible on a table, may not be as clear. When in doubt, if you think somebody is being intimidating, report it. If you see any activity you believe is dangerous, threatening or intimidating, officials say to call 911.<\/p>\n Someone has an AR-15 over their shoulder outside my polling place.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t so long ago that armed men decided to \u201cprotect\u201d the Christopher Columbus statue in South Philadelphia with AR-15s. And given the rhetoric across the country these days, it\u2019s not outside the realm of possibility that you\u2019ll see a gun on Election Day, especially depending on where you live in Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n Here are the basics when it comes to carrying a gun around on Election Day.<\/p>\n There is no Pennsylvania law explicitly banning guns inside of polling places. That said, Pennsylvania law explicitly prohibits gun owners from carrying a firearm (concealed or otherwise) into certain types of buildings, including schools. So if your polling place is inside a school \u2014 as is the case with many polling places \u2014 no guns are allowed. That\u2019s inside the polling place.<\/p>\n Outside \u2026 well, things get a little tricky. There\u2019s nothing that prevents someone who is licensed to carry a concealed weapon from doing so outside of a polling place in Philadelphia or anywhere else in the state. And outside of Philadelphia, anyone who is legally able to own a gun can open carry (i.e., carry a rifle on their shoulder) in public, no permit of any kind required. Within the boundaries of Philadelphia, though, only a person with a carry permit can open carry in Philadelphia, though the practice is generally discouraged. In other words, a guy standing outside of your polling place with an AR-15 over his shoulder may not be breaking any gun laws by doing so, assuming he has a carry permit.<\/p>\n All that said, if you feel intimidated by the presence of an armed individual on Election Day, which seems like a perfectly valid reaction, see the section above on voter intimidation and do what you need to do.<\/p>\n It\u2019s 7:15 a.m., and my polling place still isn\u2019t open. Aren\u2019t polling places in Pennsylvania supposed to open at 7 a.m.?<\/p>\n Yes. Polling places are required to open at 7 a.m. sharp, statewide. But sometimes, that doesn\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n During one election in Philadelphia, a polling place inside a church in Northwest Philadelphia didn\u2019t open on time because the janitor who had to open the building was running late. The city actually got a court order to break into the church. If your polling place isn\u2019t open on time in Philadelphia, call the City Commissioners office at 215-686-1591. Outside of Philadelphia, contact your county election board.<\/p>\n I showed up at 7:55 p.m., and the line is super long. Am I going to be able to vote?<\/p>\n Yes! As long as you are in line by 8 p.m., poll workers must let you vote. If they try to lock that door at 8 p.m. with voters still in line, raise holy hell. Peacefully and respectfully, of course.<\/p>\n There this \u201cpoll watcher\u201d claiming I shouldn\u2019t be allowed to vote!<\/p>\n There is, in fact, a process in place at your polling place where another person can challenge your right to vote. The people who can challenge are other voters who are legally inside the polling place, election officials, poll watchers, and overseers.<\/p>\n That said, the only legal grounds to challenge your right to vote at the polls on Election Day are your identity (as in, you are not who you claim to be) or that you don\u2019t live in the district where you are trying to vote.<\/p>\n If someone challenges your right to vote, the judge of elections at your polling place must decide whether the challenge is valid or not. You can provide evidence of your identity and residency to clear up the matter. Or, another voter from your district can confirm your identity and where you live by signing an affidavit. And no matter what, you can fill out a provisional ballot.<\/p>\n A poll worker just told me my signature in \u201cthe book\u201d doesn\u2019t match what\u2019s on file.<\/p>\n I sign my name in all kinds of ways. But when you go to vote, your \u201cregistered\u201d signature is on file in \u201cthe book\u201d (which is now electronic in Philadelphia<\/a>). An election worker can dispute your signature. If one does, there\u2019s a process in place that involves you filling out an affidavit confirming your identity. And remember: You can always vote by provisional ballot if they don\u2019t want to let you use the machine.<\/p>\n With a provisional ballot, you must provide your name, address and date of birth. Officials will later determine the voter registration status and count the vote when appropriate. You can track your provisional ballot online to see if it was counted. Any person wanting to vote can request a provisional ballot for whatever reason at any polling location anytime while the polls are open. If workers won\u2019t give you one or say they don\u2019t have them, call the City Commissioners office at 215-686-1591 if you are in Philadelphia. Outside of Philadelphia, contact your county election board.<\/p>\n An \u201cI Voted\u201d sticker in Philadelphia \/ Photograph courtesy of Philadelphia City Commissioners Office<\/p>\n My polling place is out of \u201cI VOTED\u201d stickers!<\/p>\n There\u2019s no law saying that the polling place has to provide you with an \u201cI VOTED\u201d sticker, but that doesn\u2019t mean officials don\u2019t hear complaints when there are no stickers to be found. (Because election workers clearly have nothing more pressing to attend to than getting you your precious sticker.) Staffers from the election office do, in fact, go out to replenish supplies when a polling place runs out. So don\u2019t worry, oh-so-politically engaged Instagrammer: You\u2019ll get your sticker, now available in a bunch of languages<\/a>. But if you feel the need to pick up the phone to complain to anyone about a lack of stickers on what will be a very busy Election Day in Pennsylvania, you might need to reevaluate your life.<\/p>\n They\u2019re making me show ID to vote. I thought that was illegal.<\/p>\n So here\u2019s the deal with voter ID. If you\u2019ve never voted at your polling place before \u2014 maybe you just registered to vote for the first time or maybe you moved from a different county or state, or maybe you just moved a few blocks away and your polling location has changed \u2014 you need to produce ID. Otherwise, you absolutely do not. And ID doesn\u2019t mean a driver\u2019s license. Your voter registration card counts. So does a utility bill, bank statement, or paycheck. If you can\u2019t produce anything that poll workers will accept as ID, insist on casting a provisional ballot.<\/p>\n But now they\u2019re saying I need photo ID.<\/p>\n Hear me and hear me now: You do not need to show photo identification. If a poll worker insists on seeing photo ID, call the City Commissioners at 215-686-1591 if you are in Philadelphia. Outside of Philadelphia, contact your county election board.<\/p>\n They let this guy vote for his wife, who is home sick with the flu. Is that legit?<\/p>\n Nope. That\u2019s technically voter fraud, and examples like that do come up. The guy has lived in the neighborhood for 60 years; all the election workers know him and his wife. What\u2019s the harm in letting him press the buttons for her while she\u2019s home sick in bed? Well, it\u2019s illegal. Of course, that\u2019s not the nefarious kind of voter fraud that we tend to hear allegations about. But it\u2019s illegal.<\/p>\n The machine I voted on didn\u2019t work correctly.<\/p>\n There have been all sorts of reports over the years of machines malfunctioning or just completely breaking down. Technicians will come out to fix a voting machine or replace it if it can\u2019t be repaired quickly. If your voting machine doesn\u2019t work the way it\u2019s supposed to, speak with a poll worker immediately and then report it.<\/p>\n That said, it\u2019s also important to remember that many, many claims about voting machine malfunction have been dubious at best. We\u2019ll never forget the time in 2016 when a voter tried to claim that the machine was forcing him to vote for Hillary Clinton when all he really wanted to do was cast a vote for Donald Trump. His video \u201cproof\u201d went viral \u2026 and was quickly debunked<\/a>. And that was well before AI and deepfakes were everywhere. If you see something on the internet, be highly skeptical.<\/p>\n A few uniformed cops are hanging out at my polling place. Is that weird?<\/p>\n The answer is maybe. Generally speaking, cops are prohibited from being at polling places unless they have come there to vote. The exception to this is if the police are there responding to a call to the location. For instance, if you call to report voter intimidation and the cops show up to investigate, they are allowed to be there for that. Otherwise, it is fair for you to be concerned.<\/p>\n They\u2019re telling me I\u2019m not in the book.<\/p>\n![\"philadelphia](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/election-day-philadelphia-problems.jpg\")
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