PENNSYLVANIA — Pennsylvania’s Secretary of the Commonwealth, Al Schmidt, has issued a timely reminder to voters about the fast-approaching deadline for mail-in or absentee ballot applications. The cutoff is tomorrow, Tuesday, Oct. 31, ahead of the upcoming Municipal Election.
This initiative is part of the Shapiro Administration’s commitment to free, fair, and secure elections, ensuring every eligible voter can express their democratic right.
“Voting by mail provides a safe, secure, and convenient method for Pennsylvanians to participate in this election,” Schmidt stated. “Until 5 p.m. Oct. 31, voters can apply for a mail-in ballot in person at their county election office and cast their vote in one visit, guaranteeing timely receipt of their ballot.”
Pennsylvania voters have two options for voting by mail: the no-excuse mail-in ballot or the absentee ballot.
Mail-in ballots
All registered Pennsylvania voters may request a no-excuse mail-in ballot. Applications can be completed online or by downloading and printing an application from the Department of State’s website, vote.pa.gov.
Schmidt reported that to date, over 900,000 voters have applied for mail-in ballots for the Nov. 7 municipal election.
Absentee ballots
Absentee ballots are available to voters who will not be in their home municipality on Election Day or those with disabilities or illnesses that prevent them from going to the polls. Applications for absentee ballots can be submitted online.
So far, over 70,000 voters have applied for absentee ballots for the upcoming municipal election.
All mail ballot applications must be received by the voter’s county elections board by 5 p.m. Oct. 31.
Once received, voters should carefully fill out the ballot, seal it in the provided envelopes, and sign the declaration on the outer return envelope.
Pennsylvania law allows voters to mail or hand-deliver their own ballot to their county board of elections. Exceptions are made for voters with disabilities who have designated someone in writing to deliver their ballot.
All completed mail ballots must be received by county boards of election offices by 8 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 7. Any mail ballots received after this time, even if postmarked by 8 p.m. Nov. 7, cannot be counted.
Voters who have requested a mail ballot but decide to vote in person on Election Day can do so by bringing their unvoted mail ballot and outer envelope to be voided at the polling place. After surrendering their mail ballot and signing a declaration, they can then vote a regular ballot.
Those voters who requested a mail ballot but did not receive it or do not have it to surrender may vote by provisional ballot at their polling place. The county board of elections will review the provisional ballot after Election Day to determine if it can be counted.
Polls will be open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day for voters who prefer to vote in person.
For further information on voting and elections, visit vote.pa.gov or call the Department of State’s hotline on 1-877-VOTESPA (1-877-868-3772), which offers information and interpretation services in over 200 languages.
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