Election Day is waning, and I am spending it as I always do, as a volunteer with the Committee of Seventy, the century old political oversight group in Philadelphia.

For more than one hundred years, Seventy has sent nonpartisan volunteers around to city polling places to stop electioneering, intimidation and disenfranchisement. I’ve risen to the rank of team leader, which means I sit in a Center City law firm answering calls, directing volunteers and eating catered sandwiches and cookies.

So, let me be the authority to tell you the obvious. Turnout is low (bad weather and boring election), but there are always a few great stories.

Around 10:30am, we got a complaint that an election judge was telling voters to “not worry about the retention votes,” which were set to keep on municipal judge-ships. Not sexy enough for you?

An hour later, a committeeman in North Philadelphia was accused of selling alcohol to voters out of his van, intimidating senior citizen voters, and possessing a gun. 

This in a election that might not get more than 30 percent voter turnout. Absolutely unbelievable. 

God bless America.

For those of you who stopped reading Philadelphia Weekly, you missed last week’s Q&A, which is generally used to fill space on the page everyone reads for This Just In’s “has a thought.”

This week takes on a fine story that UPenn’s student newspaper, the Daily Pennsylvanian is covering. Problem is it borders on literary masturbation. Despite disclosure, doesn’t it seem self-righteous that Cassidy Hartman, who handled the interview for PW, is a UPenn graduate and DP alum?   

Hartman described DP editor Shawn Salvi as a “well-spoken finance major from Chapel Hill, N.C.” He continued on to mention Salvi’s steely forearms and barrel chest, in addition to his eyes that resemble the sea after a storm.  

The 21-year-old Wharton school kid and DP editor proved to sound about as out-of-touch as you might expect of a 21-year-old Wharton school kid and DP editor.    

He mentioned in the interview how frequently he consults with DP’s attorney, which, if it doesn’t, should sound strange to you. For contrast, understand that our lawyer over here at The Temple News is a part-time employee of Temple’s cafeteria. She serves the mozzarella sticks during fourth meal.