Tom Lisi

Did you know Spotlight PA is a nonprofit? Learn more about our nonpartisan journalism »

Stories by Tom Lisi

Some sites in Bucks County, Montgomery County, and Philadelphia (where voters are shown here, at Tilden Middle School) saw long lines of voters who wanted to request a mail ballot without having to risk U.S. Postal Service problems.

Satellite offices gave Pa. voters more options to cast early ballots in person. Were they worth it?

by Tom Lisi for Spotlight PA

Dec. 29, 2020

“Mail-in voting has become like a second election that we have to run, that we never had to run before,” Lycoming County Elections Director Forrest Lehman said. “It has almost doubled the workload, and you know, nobody’s salaries have doubled at the same time.”

Pa. election officials are burnt out and leaving their jobs after 2020 ‘nightmare’

by Marie Albiges for Spotlight PA and Tom Lisi for Spotlight PA

Dec. 21, 2020

More than 3.1 million people in Pennsylvania applied to vote by mail in November, and the state’s 67 counties processed every request, according to the Department of State. That means a mail ballot should have been sent or delivered to all voters who applied.

Mailed ballots, tight deadlines caused a crunch for Pa. elections officials. Now, comes the reckoning.

by Tom Lisi for Spotlight PA

Dec. 15, 2020

Trump supporters protest outside the Capitol building on Monday, Dec. 14. Twenty electors from across Pennsylvania gathered in Harrisburg today to cast their votes for Joe Biden.

With unusual attention, Pa. presidential electors officially cast votes for Joe Biden

by Marie Albiges for Spotlight PA and Tom Lisi for Spotlight PA

Dec. 14, 2020

The state’s 67 counties will work into next year to tally up election expenses for 2020, the first year Pennsylvania implemented no-excuse mail voting.

The 2020 election cost Pa. counties millions in OT, was most expensive ever, officials say

by Tom Lisi for Spotlight PA

Dec. 10, 2020

About two weeks before Election Day, Becca Levine, 27, got a phone call from a county official telling her she would be a judge of elections on Nov. 3.

Last-minute assignments, lack of training left Pittsburgh-area poll workers unprepared on Election Day

by Tom Lisi for Spotlight PA

Nov. 25, 2020

Counties were required to submit their certified results to Secretary of the Commonwealth Kathy Boockvar by Monday.

Pa. declares Biden as winner of state’s 2020 presidential election, certifies results

by Marie Albiges for Spotlight PA and Tom Lisi for Spotlight PA

Nov. 24, 2020

Volunteers opened and sorted mail-in ballots while poll watchers observed in Erie County on Nov. 3. The Erie County Board of Elections unanimously voted to certify its election results Thursday without any fanfare.

Pa. counties expect to sign off on election results by Monday despite Trump’s attempts to delay certification

by Marie Albiges for Spotlight PA and Tom Lisi for Spotlight PA

Nov. 20, 2020

A voter studies a provisional ballot while filling it out in South Philadelphia on Election Night 2020. As of Thursday morning, roughly 27,500 had been processed and reported to the state, unofficial results show.

Tens of thousands of provisional ballots in Pa. still need to be processed

by Tom Lisi for Spotlight PA

Nov. 12, 2020

Three election workers put provisional ballots in the hopper at the 5th and 9th division of the 26th Ward after the polls closed at the polling place at Barry Recreation Center, in South Philadelphia, on Election Day.

Upwards of 100,000 provisional ballots in Pa. could further delay a winner being named

by Tom Lisi for Spotlight PA

Nov. 6, 2020

Mail-in ballots are sorted and counted by workers on Election Day on Nov. 3, 2020, at Northampton County Courthouse in Easton, Northampton County, Pennsylvania. (Matt Smith for Spotlight PA)

Reports that vote counters in Pa.'s Allegheny County are taking the day off are misleading. Here’s the truth.

by Tom Lisi for Spotlight PA

Nov. 5, 2020

This year, recruitment efforts from the state government and initiatives like Power to the Polls and the Voter Project have helped bring in an army of new volunteers to work at Pennsylvania’s more than 9,000 polling places.

A new wave of Pa. poll workers will face a major test Tuesday

by Tom Lisi for Spotlight PA

Nov. 2, 2020

How Allegheny County came to rely on a company that sent 29,000 ballots to the wrong voters

by Tom Lisi for Spotlight PA

Nov. 2, 2020

County election officials across the state say drastic changes to Pennsylvania’s voting laws, a global pandemic, and misinformation surrounding a high-stakes presidential election are all contributing to the high stress they’re feeling as they work overtime leading up to Nov. 3.

Harassment, anger, and misinformation plague Pa. county officials as they struggle to keep 2020 election on track

by Marie Albiges and Tom Lisi for Spotlight PA and Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA

Oct. 30, 2020

A Pennsylvania voter in Camp Hill wears an I Voted sticker on Election Day, Nov. 8, 2022.

Erie County restricts activities of openly armed residents near the polls if they aren’t voting

by Tom Lisi for Spotlight PA

Oct. 28, 2020

Get the top news from across Pennsylvania, plus some fun and a puzzle, all in one free daily email newsletter.