The Philadelphia City Commissioners graced us with a livestream of the city’s ballot counters hard at work. Accessible on YouTube, the video gives viewers an inside look that many have likely never seen before. While most states have laws that say this process is open to the public by law, it’s not likely that many people would have taken the time to trek down to their nearest ballot-counting location just to watch. And thanks to COVID-19, that is even less likely this year.
If we didn’t know better, it would be difficult to distinguish this livestream from one of people just going about their everyday jobs. It’s refreshing and encouraging to see democracy moving so smoothly amid what many would probably describe as a hectic election season.