What you need to know ahead of the 2024 Pa. general election
Pennsylvania’s general election is Tuesday, Nov. 5. Here’s what you should know beforehand, from election deadlines to who’s on the ballot.
9 months ago
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Chester County, Pa. election workers process mail-in and absentee ballots at West Chester University, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020, in West Chester. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
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This year, Election Day is Nov. 5. All registered voters in the commonwealth can either vote by mail ballot or in person. Voting by mail has been an option for all Pa. voters since 2020.
If you chose to vote by mail, here is everything you need to know — from deadlines to how to fill out your ballot and more.
You needed to request your ballot by 5 p.m. Oct. 29.
If you missed the deadline to request a mail ballot and cannot vote in person on Election Day because of an emergency, you can request an emergency absentee ballot.
Begin by reading instructions on the mail ballot. Be sure to complete the front and back of each page.
Then, place your mail ballot in the yellow envelope marked “Official Election Ballot” that you received with your mail ballot. There should be no stray marks on the envelope. If you do not seal your ballot in that official election ballot envelope, it won’t be counted.
You then must seal the yellow envelope in the pre-addressed outer return envelope, which was also provided with your mail ballot. On the outer return envelope is a voter’s declaration form. You must sign and date the voter’s declaration. If you do not sign and date the voter’s declaration, your vote will not be counted.
If you’re mailing it to your election office, check and see whether your county requires paid postage — and if so, how much postage you need.
Full directions can be found online.
The Pennsylvania State Department recently issued a notice stating that some voters received mail ballots with the return envelope already sealed “due to the humidity much of PA is currently experiencing.” If you have received one of those sealed ballots, you should contact your county’s election office for further instructions.
You can mail your ballot to your county election office. You can also drop it off in person at your county election office or county election satellite office.
Many counties also have designated monitored and secure drop boxes. You can also return your mail ballot there.
Official mail ballot drop box locations for Bucks County, Chester County, Delaware County, Montgomery County and Philadelphia County can be found online.
Pennsylvania law requires that you drop off your own ballot. The only exception is if you have a disability and fill out a designated agent form, which allows another individual to drop off your mail ballot for you.
You can track the status of your mail ballot online after you’ve mailed or submitted it.
If you’re returning your ballot by mail, it must be received by 8 p.m. on Nov. 5. A postmark by or even before Nov. 5 does not matter if the ballot has not been received by 8 p.m. on Nov. 5.
If you don’t think you have enough time to mail it before Election Day, you have a couple of options:
Most counties in Pennsylvania allow voters to fix issues with their mail ballot to ensure their vote is counted.
If the voter fails to put their mail ballot in the secrecy envelope before putting it in the outer envelope, or if the voter fails to sign and date the outer envelope, their vote will not be counted.
Bucks, Delaware, Chester, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties all follow a notice-and-cure process. The counties’ boards of elections notify voters whose mail ballots were filed with errors and allow them to “cure” the ballot.
In addition to the options to “cure” your mail ballot in each county, if you fill out a mail ballot and are given notice that it has errors that prevent it from being counted, you can cast a provisional ballot at the polls on Election Day.
The Supreme Court ruled Friday that Pennsylvania must process thousands of provisional ballots cast by voters whose mail-in ballots were rejected, rejecting a Republican challenge.
Here is the information for each counties’ processes in the Greater Philadelphia area for “curing” defective mail ballots:
If you have made a mistake on your mail ballot and have not yet returned it, you can complete a replace and reissue a ballot request form and submit that request to the county Board of Elections by email or by mail.
If you have returned your mail ballot and there is a mistake that would prevent it from being counted, the county will mail you a postcard stating that your submitted mail ballot has an error. Bucks County also uses the Department of State’s online ballot-tracking system, which emails voters if there is an issue with their mail ballot, so you can check your inbox as well.
In order to fix any errors on your mail ballot, Bucks County voters have to go in person to one of the following locations. If you have a disability and cannot visit one of the following locations to fix your mail ballot, you must have a designated agent go in person, with a designated agent form and a replace and reissue ballot request form.
More information can be found on the county’s website.
The county will call and email voters whose mail ballots have errors that will invalidate them. The county also uses the Department of State tracking system that will also notify voters by email of any error in their mail ballots.
If there is enough time before Election Day, the county will mail voters a replacement mail ballot. After Oct. 31, voters are encouraged to request a replacement mail ballot at the Voter Services Center at the Government Center in Media.
Voters who have cast a defective mail ballot also have the option of voting by provisional ballot at the polls on Election Day.
More information can be found on the county’s website.
The county sends a letter to voters who have defective mail ballots, and it also gives a list of voters with mail ballots with errors to the local Democratic, Republican and Libertarian parties. It also uses the Department of State ballot tracking system, which automatically emails voters who have issues with their mail ballot.
Voters who have a defective mail ballot can go to the Chester County Government Services Center in West Chester to cancel their mail ballot and have a new one printed onsite.
More information can be found on the county’s website.
The county is currently publishing a public list twice a week of voters with deficient mail ballots.
The county also contacts voters with defective mail ballots by phone, email or postcard, and uses the Department of State ballot tracking system, which automatically emails voters who have issues with their mail ballot.
If you are notified that there are issues with your voted mail ballot, you must submit a cancel/replace form by Friday, Nov. 1 to receive a new mail ballot from the county by mail. The deadline to fill out the form in person at one of the county’s elections offices and receive a replacement ballot in person is Monday, Nov. 4.
If you have a disability and cannot go in person, you can fill out a designated agent form and a cancel/replace form for your designated agent to present at a voter services office.
More information can be found on the county’s website.
The county posts a public list of voters who have submitted defective mail ballots.
More information on how Philadelphia voters can fix their defective mail ballots can be found here.
You can contact your county election boards for more information and any and all questions related to elections. For the Greater Philadelphia area, the contacts are the following:
Elections & Voter Registration
55 E. Court St.
Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 18901
Phone: (215) 348-6154
Email: elections@buckscounty.org
Elections
Karen Barsoum
Government Services Ctr.
601 Westtown Rd., Ste. 150
PO Box 2747
West Chester, Pennsylvania, 19380-0990
Phone: (610) 344-6410
Email: ccelectionofficials@chesco.org
Voter registration
Stephanie Saitis
Government Services Ctr.
601 Westtown Rd., Ste. 150
PO Box 2747
West Chester, Pennsylvania, 19380-0990
Phone: (610) 344-6410
Email: ccelectionofficials@chesco.org
Elections
Laureen Hagan
Chief Clerk/Director
201 W. Front St.
Government Center Bldg.
Media, Pennsylvania, 19063
Phone: (610) 891-4673
Email: DelcoElection@co.delaware.pa.us
Voter Registration
Crystal Winterbottom
Interim Voter Registration Director
201 W. Front St.
Government Center Bldg.
Media, Pennsylvania, 19063
Phone: (610) 891-4659
Email: DelcoElection@co.delaware.pa.us
Elections & Voter Registration
Montgomery County Voter Services
One Montgomery Plaza
425 Swede St., Suite 602
Norristown, Pennsylvania, 19401
Phone: (610) 278-3280
Email: montcovotes@montgomerycountypa.gov
Elections
Philadelphia County Board of Elections
142 City Hall
1400 JFK Blvd
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19107
Phone: (215) 686-3469
Voter Registration
Voter Registration Office
520 N Columbus Blvd
5th Floor
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19123
Phone: (215) 686-1590
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