Pa. primary election 2025: What you need to know before you vote
Primary elections will take place Tuesday, May 20. Here’s what you should know beforehand, from voter deadlines to who’s on the ballot in Philadelphia and statewide.
4 weeks ago
Shreya Srinivasan fills out her mail-in ballot at a Montgomery County voter services mobile location in King of Prussia, Pa., Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
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This year, Pennsylvania’s primary day is May 20. All registered voters in the commonwealth can either vote by mail ballot or in person. Voting by mail has been an option for all Pennsylvania voters since 2020.
If you choose to vote by mail, here is everything you need to know — from deadlines to how to fill out your ballot and more.
You need to request your ballot by 5 p.m., May 13.
Another important deadline: You must register to vote by May 5. You can check your voter registration status online.
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.
You can request a mail ballot online. You can also download the application — available in English, Spanish and traditional Chinese — and either mail it or submit it in person to your local county election office.
You’ll need your PennDOT ID number or Pennsylvania driver’s license number, or the last four digits of your Social Security Number, to apply. Here’s more information about the identification you’ll need.
Another option: You can go to your county election office and request, fill out and submit your mail ballot all at once. A surge in voters in Bucks County voting by what’s known as on-demand mail ballot voting led to long lines and a legal challenge in the 2024 election. The Pennsylvania Department of State released guidance in April specifying that county voter services’ offices should ensure everyone in line to vote by on-demand mail ballot voting by 5 p.m. on the last day to request a mail ballot should be accommodated.
Voters with disabilities also have the option of applying for an accessible remote ballot — after first applying for a mail ballot — that can be filled out electronically. This is an option for you to vote privately and securely if you use screen readers or other assistive devices.
The Department of State recommends submitting the request for an accessible remote ballot within 24 hours of submitting your mail ballot request.
You can return your mail ballot in one of three ways:
Here’s where to find secure mail ballot drop box locations in Philadelphia and its collar counties:
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 May 20. A postmark by or even before Nov. 5 does not matter if the ballot has not been received by 8 p.m. on May 20.
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.
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 mail ballot “curing” options for each county, voters who fill out a mail ballot and who are notified of errors that would prevent it from being counted may cast a provisional ballot at the polls on Election Day.
The state Supreme Court ruled that provisional ballots from voters whose mail ballots have been voided must be counted.
Below is a breakdown of each county’s process in the Greater Philadelphia area for “curing” defective mail ballots:
You can contact your county election boards for more information and for any election-related questions. Below is a list of relevant contact information for the Philly area.