(Credit for Photo: Photo Provided with Release Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Department of State)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Harrisburg, PA) Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt reminded registered Pennsylvania voters planning to vote in the May 19th primary election by mail ballot, which you can do by clicking here, that they must apply for their ballot online by clicking here or in person by May 12. According to a release from the Pennsylvania Department of State,
The Department of State’s Elections Data page, which you can find by clicking here, links to a downloadable Daily Mail Ballot Report, which provides point-in-time data showing each county elections office’s statistics.
Whether voters complete their mail ballot at home or at their county elections office, they should follow these easy steps to ensure their ballot can be counted:
- Read all instructions enclosed with the ballot.
- Fill out the ballot by following the instructions on how to mark selections. Check both sides of the ballot in case there are races listed on the second page.
- Seal the ballot in the yellow secrecy envelope marked “official election ballot.”
- Seal the yellow secrecy envelope in the pre-addressed outer return envelope.
- Sign and date the outer return envelope.
- Mail or hand deliver the completed ballot to their county elections office, or hand deliver the ballot to an officially designated satellite office or drop boxby clicking here.
Under Pennsylvania law, a voter may hand deliver only their own ballot. The only exceptions are for voters with a disability who have designated someone in writing (click here to find out more) to deliver their ballot and for voters who need an emergency absentee ballot (click here to find out more).
County elections offices (clikc here to find out more) must receive all completed mail ballots by 8 p.m. on Election Day, May 19. Mail ballots returned after that time, even if postmarked by 8 p.m. May 19, will not count.
Polls will be open 7 a.m. through 8 p.m. on Election Day for registered voters who want to vote in person (click here to find out more).
Voters who received a mail ballot but have not returned it may vote in person on Election Day if they bring their mail ballot materials with them to be voided.
Voters who requested a mail ballot and did not receive it, or do not have it to surrender, may vote by provisional ballot (click here to find out more) at their polling place. The provisional ballot will be reviewed by their county board of elections after Election Day to determine whether it can be counted.
Because Pennsylvania has a closed primary, only registered Democrats and Republicans can vote for their party’s nominees in the primary election. However, all voters can vote on any of the following if they also appear on their county’s ballot (click here to find out more):
- a constitutional amendment question,
- a ballot question, or
- a special election in their district.
The Department’s voter information website, vote.pa.gov, which you can find by clicking here, is available in English, Spanish, and Chinese and offers a polling place locator, which you can find by clicking here and contact information for county elections offices by clicking here. It also includes tips for first-time voters by clicking here, mail-in and absentee voters by clicking here, elderly and disabled voters by clicking here, and members of the military by clicking here.
