By Tim Lambert | Editor-in-chief
“Nonjuror lists are not a useful tool to verify the accuracy of voter rolls. Analyses of voter lists that have relied on faulty methodologies such as comparisons to nonjuror lists can lead to inaccurate results and false claims about the citizenship status of eligible voters.” — Geoff Morrow, a spokesperson for Pennsylvania Department of State, on the dangers of using jury rejections to find noneligible voters.
A good Monday morning to you. In case you haven’t heard, there is an election tomorrow. I kid. But if you didn’t know there was an election tomorrow, let me know. I figure there may be a reporter or two who wants to chat with you.
It turns out Nov. 2 in Pennsylvania has some landmark moments. Legendary frontiersman Daniel Boone was born in 1734 in Birdsboro, Berks County. For those of us of a certain … vintage … you may now have a particular theme song in your head. You’re welcome.
In 1795, the first presidential pardons were issued by President George Washington. The move forgave two men who were scheduled to be hanged. They had been found guilty of treason during the Whiskey Rebellion uprising in western Pennsylvania.
In 1920, KDKA in Pittsburgh produced the nation's first commercial radio broadcast and let listeners now that Republican Warren G. Harding handily won the presidency over Democrat Jame Cox.
On this Election Day Eve, thanks for starting your day off with us by reading, sharing our voter guide and supporting our work. We appreciate your trust in our team. — Tim.
Election workers sort ballots at an election operations facility in Martinez, California, on May 27, 2026, ahead of California’s statewide primary election. (Photo by Benjamin Fanjoy/Getty Images)
By Jonathan Shorman of States Newsroom
A federal appeals court on Friday denied a Trump administration demand that California set aside and not count the ballots of 20,000 suspected noncitizen voters, setting the stage for a possible appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against a U.S. Department of Justice request for an emergency order that would have required state and local election officials to not tabulate the ballots of voters on a list developed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security unless they could prove their citizenship.
A separate 9th Circuit panel on Friday also denied a Justice Department request to allow Homeland Security to restart election-related field operations that could sweep up U.S. citizens. Civil rights groups had warned the operations put naturalized citizens at risk of disenfranchisement. The prohibition applies in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin until polls close on Election Day.
The rulings marked the third and fourth courtroom losses in less than a week for President Donald Trump’s administration in its 11th-hour legal campaign to assert authority over elections, which under the U.S. Constitution are administered by states.
Voters stand in line at a polling location at West Chester University in West Chester, Pa. on Election Day on November 5, 2024. Votebeat and Spotlight PA attempted to verify the citizenship of more than 180 potential noncitizen voters in Chester County, but couldn’t find any. (Photo by Kriston Jae Bethel for Votebeat)
By Carter Walker of Votebeat
As conservative activists scour voter rolls for noncitizens who are ineligible to vote, one under-the-radar tool has proven popular: lists of people rejected for jury duty.
Typically, noncitizens are not allowed to serve on juries, so courts ask people who are called for jury duty to confirm that they are citizens. The list of people who say that they aren’t is public information in Pennsylvania, and Republicans and conservative activists have sought to compare these lists with voter rolls in an effort to identify noncitizen voters.
“I will not stop until we have acquired the non-juror records for every county in Pennsylvania,” Scott Presler, one such activist, said in a September X post. “We have found non-citizens in every single county — even red ones. Yes, many of them are registered voters.”
But, for many reasons, such comparisons are riddled with inaccuracies. Two news organizations scrutinized 13 potential noncitizen voters identified using this method in a large Pennsylvania county. They found several individuals who had once been noncitizens but were later naturalized, but zero voters who had registered before gaining citizenship.
Doulas participate in a simulation training session. (Photo courtesy of Kenda Sutton-El/Birth in Color)
By Kiley of WESA
Pennsylvania has launched the nation’s first apprenticeship program to train doulas to support their clients before, during and after childbirth. The Pennsylvania Statewide Registered Doula Apprenticeship Program will formalize doula training across the state and increase the maternal healthcare workforce.
“Working with a doula connects pregnant women with a skilled advocate and advisor through pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum — an ally who can help navigate the many changes that occur during pregnancy, prepare for and assist through delivery, and help identify when problems arise and additional supports are necessary,” said Val Arkoosh, Secretary of Pennsylvania’s Department of Health and Human Services. “Doulas help ensure mothers and their babies have a safe and empowering birth experience.”
Doulas are non-medical professionals who provide physical, emotional and informational support to a person before, during and after major life events such as giving birth.
A view of a Bitcoin ATM at Northgate Mall on February 05, 2026 in San Rafael, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
By Whitney Downard
Tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians lost millions to cryptocurrency scams last year. To help halt the flow of stolen funds, state Attorney General Dave Sunday is urging business owners with cryptocurrency kiosks to voluntarily place signage warning about popular tactics used to trick victims, especially the elderly.
Cryptocurrency may be an increasingly popular option for investments and banking, “but for many Pennsylvanians, particularly older adults unfamiliar with this technology, it can be very confusing,” Sunday said Thursday, speaking at a Monroe County senior center.
“(Scammers) exploit the unfamiliarity through fraudulent investment opportunities, online romance scams and cryptocurrency kiosks, commonly known as Bitcoin ATMs,” continued Sunday. “These are calculated attempts to frighten, manipulate and deceive people into handing over their money with devastating consequences.”
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TODAY IN THE CAPITAL-STAR
More voters casting ballots early after Trump attack on mail voting: Voter turnout for the election is about 42 million as of Thursday, slightly ahead of turnout for the 2022 midterm at the same point. But there has been a notable shift in how people are casting ballots in the lead-up to Election Day: a growing number are turning away from voting by mail and are heading to early voting polling sites.
Election officials brace for federal interference: As concerns rise about the potential for federal influence over the results of next week’s midterm elections, many voting experts and advocates remain confident that the nation’s highly localized systems of administering and counting votes will persevere.
Trump administration slow-walked 380K potential immigrant voters: The Trump administration cut naturalization sharply over the past year, leading to accusations it’s holding back hundreds of thousands of people who might have voted in the midterms.
ICYMI
What races to watch in Pennsylvania tomorrow: With nearly 250 races across Pennsylvania that will determine party control of the governor’s office, General Assembly and, potentially, the U.S. House, the commonwealth is back in the national spotlight this election season.
As campaign winds down, Rep. Scott Perry gets biblical: With the November election just days away, six-term incumbent Rep. Scott Perry offered a stark message to voters at a rally with U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.). “The devil is everywhere. You can see it in the things we’re talking about,” Perry told roughly 200 supporters at an American Legion post in Dauphin County.
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