HARRISBURG, PA — Pennsylvania residents have until October 19 to register to vote in the November 3 midterm election, a deadline that will determine eligibility to participate in contests for governor, Congress and the state legislature as election officials prepare for statewide voting.
Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt issued the reminder October 7, urging eligible residents to register or update their voter information before the deadline.
Online registration applications must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. October 19. Applications submitted by mail or in person must be received by county election offices before the close of business that day.
“Registering to vote can be done online at vote.pa.gov, in person at your county elections office, or by paper application delivered to your county elections office,” Schmidt said. “It only takes a few minutes to ensure that you can make your voice heard in this election.”
The November 3 election will determine Pennsylvania’s next governor and lieutenant governor, members of the U.S. House of Representatives, state senators in even-numbered districts and all 203 members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
The registration deadline applies to eligible residents who are not currently registered. Existing voters can also use the state’s online registration system to update their names, addresses or party affiliations.
To qualify to vote in the November election, individuals must have been U.S. citizens for at least one month before Election Day, residents of their election districts for at least 30 days and at least 18 years old by November 3.
Voter registration applications are available online at https://vote.pa.gov/ and through county voter registration offices.
Paper applications are also distributed through county assistance offices, Women, Infants and Children program offices, Armed Forces recruitment centers, county marriage license offices, area agencies on aging and certain disability service providers.
Registered voters who intend to cast mail ballots face a separate deadline. County election offices must receive applications for mail-in or absentee ballots by 5 p.m. Tuesday, October 27.
Completed mail ballots must reach county election offices by 8 p.m. on Election Day, November 3. Ballots arriving after that deadline will not be counted.
Voters may also cast ballots in person at their assigned polling places. Polls will operate from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m., and anyone in line by 8 p.m. will be permitted to vote.
Pennsylvania’s Department of State provides an online polling-place locator, county election office contact information and guidance for first-time voters, military personnel, older residents and voters with disabilities.
The voter information website is available in English, Spanish and Chinese.
The department also publishes voter registration statistics, historical election results and election administration guidance, providing public access to information about the state’s election system.
With the registration deadline approaching, eligible Pennsylvanians who need to register or update their information must complete the process by October 19 to participate in the November 3 election.
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