Mail Ballot Requests Top One Million as Pennsylvania’s Deadline Nears

More than one million Pennsylvanians have already been approved for mail ballots, and state officials say the window to join them is closing fast.

The deadline to apply for a mail or absentee ballot is 5 p.m. on Oct. 27. County election offices must receive completed ballots by 8 p.m. on Nov. 3. A postmark does not count.

Voters can apply online, by mail or in person at their county election office. Through Oct. 27, Pennsylvanians can also apply for a ballot, fill it out and return it in a single visit to the county office, according to the Department of State.

In Philadelphia, completed ballots can be returned by mail, dropped at a county election office or placed in a designated drop box. The city also operates satellite election offices where voters can get in-person help.

Every mail ballot comes with two envelopes, and officials stress the same rule every cycle. The ballot goes inside the smaller secrecy envelope first. That goes inside the larger return envelope, which the voter must sign and date. A ballot returned without the secrecy envelope will not count.

Voters who gave an email address on their application get updates when the county receives their ballot and whether any problem could keep it from being counted. Ballots can also be tracked through the state’s voter services site.

Anyone who misses the Oct. 27 deadline still has one option. Voters hit by an unexpected emergency can apply for an emergency absentee ballot any time before 8 p.m. on Election Day.

The voter registration deadline, Oct. 19, arrives even sooner. Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt is urging Pennsylvanians to check their registration status now rather than discover a problem at the polls.