Harrisburg, PA – As counties begin providing mail ballots to eligible Pennsylvania voters who requested them, the Pennsylvania Department of State today announced a toolkit for counties with a streamlined mail ballot application for voters choosing to request, mark, and return a mail ballot in person.
Although the Commonwealth does not have early voting the way many other states do, eligible Pennsylvanians can vote by mail ballot in person at their county elections office or designated satellite office once ballots have been finalized and are available. The deadline to apply for a mail ballot and to vote by on-demand mail ballot is Oct. 27.
“Voting on demand by mail ballot is a convenient option that allows eligible Pennsylvanians to make their voices heard on their own schedule. They can apply for, receive, mark, and return their ballot all in one trip,” Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt said. “Providing this new toolkit is part of our ongoing commitment to supporting voters and counties in fulfilling the most basic tenant of our republic – the right to vote.”
The toolkit includes a streamlined mail ballot application that accommodates county practices when managing on-demand mail ballot voting requests. The revised form includes a declaration that the voter wishes their ballot to be delivered to them at the county office where the form is presented, and it includes a section for county officials to make notations according to their own procedures and processes. The revised form was developed in consultation with local election officials in Beaver, Dauphin, Elk, Mercer, Philadelphia, and York counties.
The toolkit also includes signs that counties may wish to post in their office to manage the process.
Voting on demand by mail ballot at a county elections office is only one method that voters may choose to make their voices heard. Eligible Pennsylvania voters can:
- Vote in person at their polling place on Election Day. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. If a voter is in line by 8 p.m., they can vote; or
- Apply for a mail ballot by Oct. 27, fill it out, and return it through the U.S. mail or by hand delivering it to their county elections office or authorized satellite location. County elections offices must receive mail ballots by 8 p.m. Election Day; or
- Vote by on-demand mail ballot at their county elections office or authorized satellite location by Oct. 27.
Visit the Department’s website for information on which counties have ballots ready for the on-demand mail ballot process and for locations where mail ballots can be filled out and returned in person.
Members of the public can access weekly voter registration statistics, historical election data, annual voter registration reports, election directives and guidance, and other election administration resources on the Department of State's website. To learn more about annual voter list maintenance, visit the Department’s Fact-Checking Pennsylvania-Related Election Claims page.
Sec. Schmidt discussed on-demand mail ballot voting in today’s media briefing.