Biden Makes Final Pitch to Voters in Scranton on Election Day

Democratic presidential nominee former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign event in Scranton, Pa., on Nov. 3, 2020. Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo

Democratic nominee Joe Biden spent a portion of his Election Day making a final pitch to voters in Scranton, Pennsylvania, before the polls close.

The former vice president was accompanied by his two granddaughters, Natalie and Finnegan.

“Their whole life, they either had a father who was the attorney general of the state of Delaware or a grandfather who was a senator or vice president,” Biden said. “That’s why we ran.”

Biden added that “we have to restore the backbone of this country,” adding: “You all know it. The middle class built this country. Wall Street didn’t build it. The middle class built it. You are the middle class.”

Before his stop in Scranton, Biden visited the grave of his son, Beau Biden, in Wilmington, Delaware.

Pennsylvania, with 20 electoral votes, is considered a key battleground state. Both Biden and President Donald Trump have campaigned frequently in Pennsylvania in recent days, with Trump holding several rallies in the state over the previous weekend.

Several Democratic officials in Pennsylvania, including the governor and secretary of state, have warned that the final results of the election will likely not be finalized until several days later. They cited mail-in voting and early in-person voting.

President Donald Trump speaks during his final Make America Great Again rally of the 2020 campaign at Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Nov. 2, 2020. Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images

While in Pennsylvania, Trump said he would protect the state’s natural gas and energy industries while continuing to hammer Biden on his “transition from oil” statement during their final debate.

On Oct. 31, Trump announced he signed an executive order to protect fracking.

“Under my administration, we are no longer beholden to foreign powers or domestic radicals. We are powering our nation on our own terms,” Trump said, according to the White House, which published details of his executive order to protect hydraulic fracturing for natural gas.

“Moments ago, I signed an executive order to protect Pennsylvania fracking and block any effort to undermine energy production in your state,” Trump told a crowd in Montoursville. “So if one of these maniacs come along and they say end fracking … I signed it on the beautiful Marine One.”

Meanwhile, on Tuesday morning, there were long lines early in the day and sporadic reports of polling places opening late and equipment issues reported in counties in Georgia and Ohio. This was all expected given past experience, the decentralized nature of voting in the U.S. and last-minute changes due to the pandemic.

Democrats have dominated the early vote, while Republicans were expected to comprise a large share of Tuesday’s voting.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.