Philadelphia election workers process mail-in and absentee ballots for the general election, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, in Philadelphia.
Matt Slocum / AP Photo
(Continuing Coverage) Election 2020: Battleground Pennsylvania
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Tim Lambert/WITF
Matt Slocum / AP Photo
Philadelphia election workers process mail-in and absentee ballots for the general election, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, in Philadelphia.
Heading into the 2020 presidential general election, Pennsylvania was considered a key battleground state.
It lived up to its billing, as the state found itself at the center of campaign events, misinformation about election results, and baseless lawsuits filed by the Trump campaign.
This entry consists of WITF’s coverage from its efforts to build trust with its audience, long-form reporting, and spot news coverage. (The stories have been edited for time.)
The first part of the entry, from our public affairs show Smart Talk, runs until 4:12. It focuses on WITF’s Trusting News efforts to explain to its listeners what to expect on election night and the delay in results because mail-in ballots likely wouldn’t be tabulated for days.
Part two moves into examples of long-form stories produced ahead of the November election (4:13 – 24:51)
Steve Ruark / AP Photo
President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Harrisburg International Airport, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020, in Middletown.
At Middletown rally, Trump exhorts crowd but repeats falsehoods on election process, fracking (Sept. 28, 2020)
The postal service has been removing machines from Pennsylvania sorting facilities. How is that affecting the state’s election planning? (Aug. 21, 2020)
Voting rights advocates in Pa. recruit interpreters, multilingual poll workers (Oct. 8, 2020)
Election 2020: Groups reach out to Spanish-speaking voters amid new mail-in process, coronavirus pandemic (May 29, 2020)
Keith Srakocic / AP Photo
People line up completely surrounding the Jackson Township Municipal Building, in three separate lines alphabetically by last name, as the poll opened, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, Election Day, in Jackson Township, Pa.
The final installment runs from 24:52 — 29:46 and includes spot news coverage of the the vote counting process, baseless lawsuits filed by the Trump campaign, and the certification of the results in Pennsylvania.
Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar says results won’t be known on election night (Oct. 27, 2020)
Even with election called for Joe Biden, Pennsylvania’s presidential vote count goes on (Nov. 8, 2020)
Commonwealth Media Services
Kathy Dahlkemper of Erie County, parliamentarian of the Electoral College, casts her ballot in Harrisburg on Dec. 14, 2020
Most Pa. counties certify election results by deadline; a few will take longer (Nov. 23, 2020)
Pennsylvania certifies the 2020 election results (Nov. 24, 2020)
Visible protests absent from Pa.’s electoral college meeting (Dec. 14, 2020)
Judge Brann dismisses Trump lawsuit (Nov. 21, 2020)
