This Election Day, LebTown will provide live updates from the field as voters head out to the polls. Check back often to see updates, or follow us on Facebook for the latest.
Find complete ballot information below, as well as links to our previous coverage. If you’re voting in person today, you can look up your polling place here. Polls close at 8 p.m.
8:45 a.m. – Polls open in Fredericksburg
Polling places opened today, Nov. 5, at 7 a.m.
Before the doors opened in Fredericksburg, the line started at the entrance and wrapped along the side of the parking lot. Some voters clutched cups of hot coffee to warm their hands and wake up before heading off to work.
Mike Somers, a poll worker in Fredericksburg, said general elections typically bring higher turnout, and mornings see longer lines.
“There are two big surges — right now and in the afternoon and evening,” Somers said.
He said they move people through as fast as they can check voters into the building.
Zach Herb, a student at Lancaster Bible College and the first in line, said he got to the building at 6:01 a.m.
This is his first presidential election, and he said he will be voting for Donald Trump.
“I think it’s important to come out and vote, especially with the younger generation at this time,” Herb said.
Teri Light said she joined the queue at 6:40 a.m., and wanted to vote early so she could get to work by 9.
She said the early-morning turnout in Fredericksburg was higher than normal. She thinks it’s because of how polarizing each candidate is.
“I feel that this is probably one of the most important we’ve had in a long, long time,” Light said. “I’m voting for the person who’s going to do the best for the country — in my opinion, that would be Trump.”
Local poll workers are able to move people through the building quickly, she said, so she was confident she’d be able to vote before having to head out.
7:10 a.m. – Mail-in ballot processing starts
President Judge John C. Tylwalk swore in about 40 mail-in ballot processors on the second floor of the Lebanon Municipal Building at 7:10 a.m., just minutes after today’s official 6:40 a.m. sunrise.
They will work throughout the day to open, verify, and prepare for counting the 18,003 early voting ballots submitted by Lebanon Countians before Election Day.
The Lebanon County voter office, Municipal Building Room 209, must PHYSICALLY RECEIVE your completed mail ballot by 8 p.m. A postmark by 8 p.m. is not sufficient.
YOU CANNOT HAND IN MAIL-IN BALLOTS AT INDIVIDUAL POLLING PLACES.
“Precanvassing” is the process of preparing ballots submitted before Election Day for counting. These steps can include checking signatures and dates, opening envelopes, sorting ballots, and scanning them into ballot-counting machines.
Precanvassing does not include having the ballot-counting machines generate a vote count. That can only happen after the polls close at 8 p.m. on election evening.
Pennsylvania is one of seven states that does not allow the labor-intensive processing of absentee or mail ballots until 7 a.m. Election Day. This means that election officials must deal with these ballots at the same time the polls are open, in essence running two elections at once. This can cause delays in publishing unofficial results.
The consensus among election directors throughout Pennsylvania is that being able to do at least some of the work a day or more ahead of time would make things run more efficiently on Election Day.
6:00 a.m. – Election Day is here
Good morning, Lebanon County voters and LebTown readers!
Today is the General Election with Lebanon County’s 60 voting precincts opening at 7 a.m. and closing at 8 p.m.
The best advice LebTown can provide those registered voters before they head out to the polls comes from Sean Drasher, director of the Lebanon County Bureau of Elections and Voter Registration.
“Please be very, very patient. We anticipate very long lines. Bring a book,” said Drasher.
With Lebanon County voter registration reaching an all-time high at 95,833, long lines will probably be the norm at many precincts throughout the Lebanon Valley today. (There are 53,489 registered Republicans and 26,683 Democrats.)
In Lebanon County, 20,893 mail-in ballots were distributed, meaning that over 70 percent of the total number of registered voters – if everyone turns out to vote – will hit the county election polls before polls close at 8 p.m.
Here are a few helpful reminders for the courtesy of voters:
- Mail-in ballots must be returned by 8 p.m. today to either the county’s drive-up drop-off satellite office located in the parking lot of the county municipal building at 400 S. 8th St., Lebanon, or to the elections office on the second floor of the county municipal building.
- Mail-in ballots will NOT be accepted at voting precincts.
- Individuals in line prior to 8 p.m. will be allowed to vote or drop-off their mail ballot.
- If you still have your mail-in ballot in your possession, you must deliver it by 8 p.m. to one of the two aforementioned locations at the county municipal building because all ballots must be in the hands of county election officials when polls close.
- Be aware that Pennsylvania law requires voters to only return their mail-in ballot with an exception. If a Pennsylvania voter has a disability and needs assistance returning their ballot, they can designate someone to deliver it for them. The voter must use a designated agent form and send the form along with their ballot with the person delivering it.
- First-time voters must bring a valid ID to vote.
The right to vote is arguably the greatest freedom we enjoy as Americans, so exercise yours if you’re registered and get out to your local precinct today!
6:00 a.m. – Election Day weather forecast
When Lebanon County’s voting precincts open today for the General Election, temperatures will be near 50. Cloudy skies will give way to sunshine by the middle of the afternoon, with temperatures reaching the mid-70s.
By the time the voting precincts close at 8 p.m., voters will see the return of cloudy skies and temperatures dropping to the mid-60s.
Although researchers have drawn different conclusions on how weather impacts elections, many agree that the rise of alternative voting methods has lowered the effect that weather has on election results.
According to an article by NBC News last updated on Monday, Nov. 4, more than 1.75 million Pennsylvanians are among the more than 76 million Americans who have already cast their vote, be it through early in-person or mail-in ballot voting.
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