HARRISBURG – On November 5, Pennsylvania residents will elect the president, the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, state offices (Attorney General, Auditor General and Treasurer) and the legislature.
While many voters go to their local polling place on Election Day, others choose to vote by mail instead. All registered voters in the Commonwealth have been able to vote by mail since 2020.
Voting by mail can be confusing. That confusion is compounded by legal battles, disinformation that undermines public confidence in elections, and efforts by many Republican lawmakers to ban its use.
However, it is important to know that all registered voters in Pennsylvania have the legal option to cast their vote by mail if they so choose.
Here you can find out everything you need to know about postal voting:
How do I apply for a postal vote?
You can apply for a mail-in ballot online, in person at a county election office, or by mail. Paper applications are available for download in English, Spanish, and Chinese. Applications must be received by your county election board by October 29 at 5:00 p.m.
If you are not registered to vote, you must do so by October 21. Online voter registration applications must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Mailed and in-person applications must be received by the county board of elections by 5 p.m. Postmarks do not count.
To request an absentee ballot, you must provide some form of identification. Accepted options include a Pennsylvania driver’s license or the last four digits of a Social Security number. The Pennsylvania Department of State provides a full list of accepted forms of identification online.
You can request a one-time absentee ballot, or you can be placed on the annual absentee ballot list, which means you will receive an application each year. You must submit this application for each year you wish to vote by mail.
If you have an emergency and miss the deadline, you may still be able to submit an emergency absentee ballot application.
How do I make sure my ballot is counted?
To ensure your vote counts, it is best to follow the instructions on your mail-in ballot, especially regarding correct dating.
State officials overhauled mail-in ballots this year to eliminate common errors that could cause votes to not be counted. The changes have been effective, according to the state, which saw fewer mail-in ballots rejected overall for voting errors in the primary election. Recently, the Pennsylvania Secretary of State began requiring counties to preprint the full four-digit year in the date field on the return envelope, so voters only need to fill in the month and day fields along with their signature.
Here are some important rules for voting by mail that you should keep in mind:
- You must use blue or black ink to fill out your ballot.
- Each ballot comes with two envelopes: an inner “secret” envelope (labeled “official ballot”) and an outer envelope. Ballots must be sealed in the inner envelope and must not be written on.
- Once you have properly sealed the inner envelope, place it inside the outer envelope and seal it.
- There is a voter declaration on the outer envelope. You must sign and date the declaration below. Be careful not to accidentally write your date of birth.
- Some counties require paid postage, others do not. Check your county website for postage amounts, as longer mail-in ballots may incur additional postage.
How do I return my mail-in ballot?
There are several ways to return your ballot, but the most important thing is that your ballot must be received by your county board of elections by 8:00 p.m. on Election Day. If you drop off your ballot in person or use a drop box, you must choose a location in your county. If you drop off your ballot in a different county, it will not be counted.
- Return by mail: To return your ballot by mail, all you need to do is put proper postage on it and mail it the same way you would mail it. Since counties cannot count ballots received after 8 p.m. on Election Day, it is better to mail your ballot as soon as possible.
- Drop it off in person: Make sure your ballot is properly filled out and sealed, then drop it off in person at your county election office. Some counties may have other designated drop-off locations. You can find the address of your county election office or drop-off locations online.
- Use a drop box: Drop boxes are another safe method of returning mail-in ballots (guidelines from the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency say they should be securely anchored to the ground and monitored by security cameras). Not all counties have drop boxes. The Pennsylvania Department of State recommends that voters check their county’s website for an official list of locations.
After you’ve submitted your ballot by mail or mail-in, you can check its status online. This is because each envelope has a unique barcode that’s only for you. Once that barcode is scanned, it will record that your mail-in ballot has been received. However, according to Pennsylvania law, your mail-in ballot will not be opened and counted until Election Day.
If you are unable to return your ballot yourself due to a disability, you can fill out a form and designate someone else to return the ballot for you. You must submit the form with your absentee ballot application, and the person authorized to vote must have a copy on hand when they return your ballot.
Otherwise, you will have to return your ballot yourself.
Politicians have used isolated cases of illegal ballot returns as a reason to question the security of mail-in voting. But these incidents do not indicate widespread voter fraud. In fact, mail-in ballot fraud is extremely rare given the security hurdles voters must overcome to obtain a ballot box, the surveillance measures those ballots are subjected to, and the auditing procedures states use to ensure that ballots are not cast by ineligible voters and that no one is voting twice.
Visit vote.pa.gov to read the Pennsylvania Secretary of State’s rules on voting by mail.
