Harrisburg, PA – Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt marked National Voter Registration Day today by reminding eligible Pennsylvanians that the deadline to register to vote in the November election is Monday, Oct. 21.
“Voting is a fundamental right in our representative democracy and the most basic way Pennsylvanians can make their voices heard,” Schmidt said. “I encourage every eligible Pennsylvanian who is not registered to vote to take a few minutes to register online before the Oct. 21deadline so they can have their say on Nov. 5.”
To be eligible to register to vote, Pennsylvanians must be:
- A citizen of the United States for at least one month before the election,
- A resident of the election district in which the person plans to register for at least 30 days before the election, and
- At least 18 years of age on or before the date of the election.
Last year, the Shapiro Administration launched automatic voter registration as part of its continued commitment to ensuring free, fair, and secure elections. All PennDOT photo and driver license centers offer automatic voter registration, which provides eligible Pennsylvanians with an integrated method for applying to register to vote or update their registration when they obtain a driver's license or ID card or renew their existing identification.
Since launching last September, 147,586 eligible Pennsylvanians have registered to vote through automatic voter registration.
Pennsylvanians who are already registered to vote can check their registration status online and update their voter record with changes such as name or address.
In addition to registering online and through automatic voter registration, eligible Pennsylvanians can register by mail or in person at the following locations:
- Their county voter registration office
- County assistance offices
- Women, Infants & Children (WIC) program offices
- Armed Forces recruitment centers
- County clerk of orphans' courts or marriage license offices
- Area agencies on aging
- County mental health and intellectual disabilities offices
- Student disability services offices of the State System of Higher Education
- Offices of special education in high schools
- Americans with Disabilities Act-mandated complementary paratransit providers
Registered voters can also request a no-excuse mail-in or absentee ballot online. Mail-in and absentee ballot applications must be received by a voter's county elections office by 5 p.m. Oct. 29. Voted mail-in and absentee ballots must be received by county election offices by 8 p.m., Election Day, Nov. 5.
The Department's voter information website, vote.pa.gov, is available in English, Spanish, and Chinese and offers voter registration applications, a polling place locator, and contact information for county election offices. It also includes tips for first-time voters, mail-in and absentee voters, older voters, and voters with disabilities , and members of the military.