HARRISBURG — On May 20, Democrats and Republicans in Pennsylvania will vote for their parties’ candidates in the municipal primary election. Depending on where you live, your ballot could include races for mayor, school board, city council, various judicial offices, district attorney, and more.
While many voters will head to their local polling place on Election Day, others will opt to vote by mail. All registered voters in the commonwealth have been able to vote by mail since 2020.
Mail voting can be confusing and has been made even more so over the past five years by legal challenges, disinformation undermining public faith in elections, and efforts by many Republican lawmakers to prohibit its use.
It has also been extremely popular among Pennsylvanians who need or want more flexibility when they vote. In the 2024 presidential race, nearly 2 million voters in the commonwealth cast their ballots by mail.
Here’s everything you need to know about voting by mail:
How do I request a mail ballot?
You can apply for a mail ballot online, in person at a county election office (or satellite election office if a county has them), or through the mail. Paper applications are also available for download in Spanish and Chinese, in addition to English. Applications must be received by your county election board by 5 p.m. on May 13.
During the 2024 presidential election, a high volume of people wanted to both apply for and cast mail ballots in person at their county election offices or satellite offices, leading to lines and frustration in some places. That practice is permitted under Pennsylvania law, but it is not the same as the early voting options available in some other states, and can be time-consuming.
Pennsylvania’s Department of State
recently issued updated guidance instructing county election workers to have a plan to serve every voter who wishes to cast a ballot this way, including “a plan for ensuring that every voter who is in line by 5:00 p.m. on the last day to apply for a mail ballot is provided with an opportunity to request and submit their ballot.”
If you’re not registered to vote, you must do so by May 5. Online voter registration applications must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Mail and in-person applications must be received by the county board of elections by 5 p.m. Postmarks do not count.
You must provide identification to apply for a mail ballot. Acceptable options include a Pennsylvania driver’s license or the last four digits of a Social Security number. The Pennsylvania Department of State has a full list of the approved forms of identification online.
You can apply for a one-time mail ballot or request to be added to the annual mail ballot list, which means you’ll get an application each year. You must submit this application for every year you wish to vote by mail.
If you have an emergency and miss the deadline, you may still be able to request an emergency application for an absentee ballot.
How do I make sure my ballot is counted?
The best way to ensure your vote counts is to follow the instructions on your mail ballot, especially when it comes to correctly dating it.
Here are some key mail ballot rules to remember:
You must use blue or black ink to fill out your ballot.
Each ballot comes with two envelopes: an inner “secrecy” envelope with a yellow background (labeled “official election ballot”) and an outer envelope. Ballots must be sealed in the inner envelope, and you cannot write on this envelope.
Once you’ve properly sealed the inner envelope, place it in the outer envelope and seal that.
There is a voter declaration on the outer envelope. You must write your signature and the current date below the declaration. The full, four-digit year in the date field should be pre-printed, so voters will have to only fill out the month and day fields. Make sure you do not accidentally write your birthdate.
Some counties require paid postage, but others don’t. Check your county election website to confirm and double-check the amount of postage, as longer mail ballots may require additional postage.
How do I return my mail ballot?
There are several methods for returning your ballot, but the most important thing to remember is that your county election board must receive your ballot by 8 p.m. on Election Day. If you’re returning your ballot in person or using a drop box, you must use a location in your county. If you deliver your ballot to another county, it won’t be counted.
Return by mail: To return your ballot through the mail, all you have to do is use the proper postage and send it out the same way you’d send any mail. Because counties cannot count ballots that come in after 8 p.m. on Election Day, the sooner you mail your ballot, the better.
Deliver in person: Make sure your ballot has been properly filled out and sealed, then return it in person to your county election office. Some counties may also have other designated return sites. Find the address for your county election office or drop-off sites online.
Use a drop box: Drop boxes are another secure method of returning a mail ballot. Guidance from the Pennsylvania Department of State instructs counties to make sure they are securely fastened to an immovable object or placed behind a counter, and monitored by a person or security camera at all times, among other anti-tampering measures. Not all counties have them. The Pennsylvania Department of State says voters should look on their county’s website to find an official list of locations.
What happens if I made a mistake on or lost my mail ballot?
If you lose or make a mistake on your ballot, you have options. However, some of these options vary by county.
If you realize you damaged or made an error on your ballot and have not yet returned it, you can always vote in person at your polling place.
To vote in person, you must bring all of your mail ballot components to your polling location and turn them over to poll workers. You’ll be required to sign a form declaring that you haven’t voted by mail. After that, you should be allowed to vote at the precinct.
If you are unable to surrender your mail ballot materials, either because you lost the ballot, never received it, or forgot it, you can still vote by provisional ballot at your precinct.
Some counties will also issue a replacement mail ballot ahead of the election if you realize yours is lost, damaged, or if you made a mistake. Voters seeking a replacement ballot should contact their county election office for instructions.
If you make a mistake on your mail ballot and return it, whether you’re able to correct that error also comes down to which county you live in.
Pennsylvania election law is vague when it comes to what counties can do to help voters fix mistakes, but court decisions have established that it’s up to county election officials to decide. As a result, the process varies by county.
Currently, 38 counties in Pennsylvania allow voters to fix errors made on their mail ballots in some way. This process is known as “notice-and-cure.” It is a policy instituted by some counties to notify voters of a mistake with their mail ballots that would otherwise put the ballot at risk for rejection, and then gives those voters the opportunity to correct the errors.
During the 2024 general election, only 0.57% of mail ballots statewide were rejected due to common voter errors — like a missing signature, an improper date, or missing the secrecy envelope — but in counties with a notice and cure policy, the percentage was lower.
To learn what the policy is in your county, reach out to your county election office or check out Spotlight PA’s interactive map.
If your mail ballot was rejected due to a disqualifying mistake and you live in a county where you are not able to fix it, you can still vote in person via a provisional ballot on Election Day, according to a 2024 Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling.
How can I check the status of my mail ballot?
After you mail or deliver your ballot, you can check its status online. This is because every mail ballot outer envelope has an individual barcode that is specific to you. Once this barcode is scanned, it will be recorded that your mail ballot was received. However, your mail ballot will not be opened and counted until Election Day, per Pennsylvania law.
If you have a disability that prevents you from returning your ballot, you may fill out a form to designate someone else to return it for you. You must turn in the form with your mail ballot application, and the designee must have a copy on hand when they return your ballot.
Otherwise, you must return your own ballot.
Politicians have used isolated instances of illegal ballot returns to challenge the security of mail voting, but these incidents do not indicate widespread fraudulent voting. In fact, mail ballot fraud is extremely rare given the security hurdles voters must clear to receive one, the tracking measures to which these ballots are subjected, and the auditing procedures states use to make sure that ballots aren’t cast by ineligible voters and that nobody votes twice.
Visit vote.pa.gov to read the Pennsylvania Department of State’s rules for mail ballots.
