You Decide 2020: Polls close across region, mail-in ballot counting underway

PHILADELPHIA - Voters across the tri-state area headed to the polls Tuesday as they looked to make their voices heard in the 2020 Election.

While Pennsylvania's 20 electoral votes will likely highlight the area's impact on the presidential race between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, all three states feature key contests and questions.

FULL COVERAGE: 2020 ELECTION

Below is a look at some of the key races and questions on the ballot in all three states.

PENNSYLVANIA

Ballot processing underway in Center City

The Pennsylvania Convention Center has been transformed into a ballot counting location. FOX 29's Chris O'Connell has the latest.

While the 2020 Presidential race will certainly be the highlight of Election Day in Pennsylvania on Nov. 3, a number of statewide races and local congressional races will also be watched closely.

Notable statewide races include Attorney General, Treasurer and Auditor General. In our area, 10 U.S. House of representative seats were also up for grabs. Among those seeking re-election is Brian Fitzpatrick, in the state's Bucks County-based first district. Fitzpatrick is one of just three House Republicans in the entire country running for reelection in a district Trump lost during 2016′s presidential contest.

Philadelphia voters had the opportunity to vote on a number of criminal justice reform including a controversial stop-and-frisk amendment, and an amendment regarding the Citizens Police Oversight Commission.

As Election Day arrived, the public awaits the release of body camera footage in the deadly police shooting of Walter Wallace Jr. in West Philadelphia. The shooting has highlighted the city, and police department's, need for reform when it comes to dealing with citizens experiencing a mental health crisis. One of the measures on the ballot would create a Citizens Police Oversight Commission (CPOC), which would replace the Police Advisory Commission created by Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney in a 2017 executive order. The measure would also authorize City council to "determine composition, powers and duties of the Commission."

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the city has also been dealing with an epidemic of gun violence. So far in 2020 the city has seen more than 400 homicides. It is the first time the city has surpassed 400 homicides in a year in more than a decade. The second ballot measure would create an Office of the Victim Advocate, "to advocate for crime victims and to work with victim-services providers to coordinate, plan, train, educate, and investigate issues relating to crime victims?"

FOX 29's Kelly Rule reports some polling places experienced some issues as long lines formed. Two of the three voting machines at Simpson Recreation Center on Arrott Street were down for several hours.

“I didn’t see anyone leave the line. A lot of people stayed here and stuck it out with the machine issue. Some people were waiting hours — between one and two hours to vote," Northeast Philadelphia resident Justin Crump said.

Pennsylvania emerged as a hotspot for online misinformation on Election Day. Facebook and Twitter scrambled to take down false posts about polling locations in Scranton, Philadelphia and beyond to minimize the spread of misinformation and prevent it from sowing doubt about the election process.

Misleading claims about voting in the key battleground state were shared thousands of times on Facebook and Twitter — even reaching their way to the Twitter feed of the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr.

“The fact that we are unlikely to know the result of that pivotal race tonight means that any incidents will receive disproportionate attention because there won’t be a resolution to the race,” said Emerson Brooking, a disinformation fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab, a Washington think tank.

Check 2020 general election results for Pennsylvania, here.

NEW JERSEY

New Jersey voters head to polls amid state’s mostly mail-in election

FOX 29's Jennifer Joyce checks in from South Jersey, where many voters still opted to vote in person even though ballots were mailed to them.

Election Day went to plan for Democrats Joe Biden and Cory Booker, who won at the top of the ticket in New Jersey’s first mostly mail-in election. Biden will pocket the state’s 14 electoral votes, and Booker will head back to Washington for a second full term.

New Jersey voters FOX 29’s Jennifer Joyce spoke with say the events of the last year have swayed their vote one way or another. Many saying after all that we’ve been through in 2020 it was more important than ever to do their part.

Check 2020 general election results for New Jersey, here.

DELAWARE

Democrats maintained their control of Delaware politics Tuesday, keeping hold of the state’s congressional delegation, the governor’s seat and all statewide offices.

Delaware voters also gave former Vice President Joe Biden a home-state victory over Republican Donald Trump in the presidential race.