Pennsylvania voters who want to cast a mail ballot in the Nov. 3 general election have until 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, to get their applications to their county elections office, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State. Completed ballots must then reach the county by 8 p.m. on Election Day.

More than 1.2 million Pennsylvanians had already applied for a mail ballot when Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt issued a reminder about the deadline on Oct. 20. “If you want to vote by mail, now is the time to apply so you will have enough time to receive, complete, and return your ballot to your county elections office by the deadline of 8 p.m. on Election Day,” Schmidt said in the department’s announcement.

Voters can apply online through the state’s voter services website or in person at their county elections office. Schmidt noted that voters may also apply in person, fill out the ballot on the spot and hand it back in a single visit through Oct. 27, and he encouraged them to check their county office’s hours before making the trip. The state says applicants generally must provide proof of identification each time they request a mail or absentee ballot.

In Adams County, the Office of Elections and Voter Registration is at 230 Greenamyer Lane, Suite 100, in Gettysburg, where it moved in 2023. The county’s secure ballot drop box is in the lobby of the Adams County Courthouse, 117 Baltimore St. The drop box is available weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; voters should check the county elections website for any change in hours as Election Day approaches.

The Department of State lists several steps voters must follow for a mail ballot to be counted. Voters should read the enclosed instructions, mark their choices and check both sides of the ballot for additional races. The ballot then goes into the yellow secrecy envelope marked “official election ballot,” which is sealed inside the pre-addressed outer return envelope. Voters must sign and date that outer envelope. Under state law, voters may hand-deliver only their own ballot, with exceptions for voters with disabilities who designate someone in writing and for those using an emergency absentee ballot.

The return deadline is firm. Mail ballots that arrive after 8 p.m. on Nov. 3 will not be counted, even if they were postmarked before then, the department said. At a press conference earlier this month, Schmidt urged voters planning to use the mail not to put it off, the Pennsylvania Capital-Star reported.

Voters who change their minds still have options. Someone who received a mail ballot but has not returned it may vote in person at their polling place on Election Day by bringing the ballot and its envelopes to be voided. Voters who requested a mail ballot but never received it, or who cannot surrender it, may cast a provisional ballot, which the county board of elections reviews after Election Day to determine whether it can be counted.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Nov. 3, and anyone in line by 8 p.m. will be allowed to vote. Pennsylvania voters will choose a governor and fill all 17 of the state’s seats in the U.S. House, along with half of the state Senate and every seat in the state House. The state’s voter website, vote.pa.gov, offers a polling place locator, and the Department of State operates a voter hotline at 1-877-VOTESPA. A daily mail ballot report on the department’s elections data page shows application and return figures for each county.

For voters who have not yet applied, the window closes at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Sources