While it's considered a so-called off-year election, there's plenty at stake at the ballot box today. Voters will decide whether three state Supreme Court justices should keep their jobs for another ten year term. Three candidates are on the ballot for a ten year term on the state Superior Court and a new Commonwealth Court judge will be elected today as well. Voters in both Lehigh and Northampton county will be electing new county executives today. There are two contested races for Lehigh County Council and ten candidates are fighting for five spots on Northampton County Council today. Voters in Allentown will decide whether Matt Tuerk should serve a second term or if City Councilman Ed Zucal should get the job.
Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt says 1.13 million mail-in ballots were sent to Pennsylvanians, with 828,000, or 73 percent, already returned. If you still have your mail-in ballot, Schmidt says it's too late to mail it in. Those voters are left with three options. "You can either return it to your county board of elections or satellite office or drop box location. Or, you can bring it with you to the polling place and surrender it to the board of elections to void it so you can vote on the voting system available at your local polling place," Schmidt says. The third option applies to voters who don't bring that mail-in ballot to the polls. For those people, Schmidt says you can only vote by provisional ballot at your polling place today. Your county election board will then verify that you did not vote by mail before counting your provisional ballot.
Accu-Weather's Joe Lundberg says you won't be able to use the weather as an excuse for not voting today. "No excuses whatsoever. Sun today start to finish and it will be breezy but not a drop of rain is coming," Lundberg says. Today's high temperature is expected to be 60 degrees.
After months of campaigning, it's up to the voters now to decide who will be New Jersey's next governor. Republican businessman Jack Ciattarelli and Democratic Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill have made their final pitches to New Jersey voters. Both are trying to wrap up their appeals for votes, with both pledging to make New Jersey more affordable. Congresswoman Sherrill says, if elected, she'll declare a state of emergency on Day One "freezing utility rate hikes." Former Assemblyman Ciattarelli says he'll issue Executive Order Number One which will say that no town in New Jersey will be a sanctuary city and that New Jersey won't be a sanctuary state. In addition to the governor's race, New Jersey voters are casting ballots on all 80 Assembly seats.
A man convicted of killing over a dozen people in a Luzerne County shooting spree over 40 years ago is dead. The Department of Corrections says George E. Banks died in prison Sunday at the age of 83. Banks, a former prison guard, shot and killed 13 people in Wilkes-Barre and Jenkins Township in September 1982. Five of the victims were his children.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy is deploying the National Guard to support food banks. With more than 800-thousand New Jerseyans going without their SNAP benefits, Murphy says many people are feeling "scared and unsure" about how they'll feed themselves and their families. So, the governor has mobilized the Air National Guard to deliver four refrigerated storage containers from the state's emergency stockpile. One has gone to the Community Food Bank of Hillsdale and another has been delivered to Fulfill in Neptune. Murphy says it's an effort to make more fresh food available to New Jersey families in crisis.
New Jersey's Attorney General warns families facing SNAP food assistance shortages or delays to beware of scammers. State Attorney General Matthew Platkin says the SNAP scammers are trying to take advantage of the political debate leading to uncertainty about the federal food assistance program. He says residents need to beware of anyone who says they can unblock your EBT card or otherwise clear things up, and to never reveal EBT card numbers and PINs. More than 800-thousand New Jerseyans rely on the SNAP program.
The Eagles continue to make moves on defense. The team acquired Jaelan Phillips from the Dolphins on Monday in exchange for a third-round pick in April's draft. The edge rusher has three sacks in nine games this season and will become a free agent once it ends. Philly made the move just days after adding cornerback Jaire Alexander from the Ravens.