My love affair with Election Night began in November 1998.
In Montgomery County, Joseph Hoeffel upended Jon Fox in the 13th Congressional District in a rematch of two years prior, when Fox bested Hoeffel by a mere 84 votes.
I was one of the reporters at Fox’s post-election soiree at Cedarbrook Country Club in Blue Bell, but I wasn’t covering his loss. The party had drawn Republicans from all over the county and I was trying to track down candidates who’d run in a couple of state House races. (People were harder to find in 1998. Not everyone had a cell phone.)
What I remember about that night was the thrill of watching democracy in action, and the surge of patriotism that came with the understanding that this was special. Not everyone lives in a place where, twice a year, they can choose their leaders.
The other thing about that November Tuesday night that has stayed with me, even 25 years on, was how eager everyone in that Montgomery County ballroom was to see vote totals. They wanted numbers to consume, share and analyze, even as the night was still unfolding.
Decades have passed but that desire for up-to-the-minute election results has only intensified in this era of smartphones and social media.
So, in that spirit, I’m excited to share that your Bucks County Herald will provide real-time Bucks County primary election results on May 16 (and into the wee hours of May 17) at buckscountyherald.com/election-news.
There, you’ll be able to track all contested Bucks County school board, municipal and district justice race results even as the votes are still being counted. No spin. No bias. Just the numbers.
In the meantime, think of buckscountyherald.com/election-news as your source for all things related to Bucks County elections.
Visit today and you’ll get easy access to an interactive, expanded version of the print Voters Guide that the Herald published on April 27.
The guide includes more than 350 candidates, but you can punch in your home address to generate a customized list of races and profiles for the candidates you’ll see when you walk into the voting booth on May 16.
Created in partnership with the League of Women Voters of Bucks County, the interactive guide really is the fastest way to bone up on the races relevant to you while leaving out the ones that aren’t.
Below that, you’ll find stories that preview local school board contests and convey information regarding drop boxes, absentee ballots, mail-in voting and other election-related topics.
Once the polls close on Tuesday night, the Voters Guide will disappear and be replaced by a series of easy-to-navigate tables where results will display.
I’ll be bookmarking buckscountyherald.com/election-news so I can check back regularly in the hours leading up to Election Day and, especially, after 8 p.m. on Election Night.
We at the Herald are committed to providing our readers with excellent coverage of the primary in Bucks County.
So put on a pot of coffee and stay up late with us on Tuesday.
John Anastasi is Editor-in-Chief of the Bucks County Herald and can be reached at janastasi@buckscountyherald.com.
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