Mail ballot applications close today. Counties say they're running 'three different elections' under rules the Senate left unchanged
Applications are due by 5 p.m. Tuesday. County officials described their preparations at a forum Monday, and the bill that would let them start processing mail ballots before Election Day has now waited 131 days in a Senate committee.
Tuesday, Oct. 27, is the last day to apply for a mail ballot for the Nov. 3 election. Applications must reach your county election office by 5 p.m., and completed ballots must arrive by 8 p.m. on Election Day, according to the Department of State. A postmark doesn't count.
At an online forum Monday hosted by the group Keep Our Republic, county officials described what the next week looks like from their side. "In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, elections departments are, in essence, preparing for three different elections," said York County Commissioner Julie Wheeler, a Republican who leads the county's election board, City & State Pennsylvania reported. Counties are running Election Day voting at the polls, mail voting, including military and overseas ballots, and over-the-counter ballot requests at the same time.
What counties described
- York County had about 40,000 mail ballots requested and 25,000 returned so far, Wheeler said, and set up an emergency task force with the district attorney, sheriff and emergency management offices, according to City & State.
- Luzerne County has 186 precincts, 138 polling places and more than 1,200 poll workers, County Manager Romilda Crocamo said. "We have nothing to hide, and we will follow state law," she said.
- Courts will be open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Election Day, with judges available in all 67 counties to settle voting disputes.
- On federal monitors, former federal judge John Jones said they "have no power to stop an election or to interfere with the conduct of an election." Our Oct. 26 article covers which counties expect them.
Gov. Josh Shapiro told WESA the state has "been preparing for this for more than a year" and will protect access to polling places, WESA reported.
What the records add
The counting rules haven't changed. Counties still can't begin processing, or "pre-canvassing," mail ballots until 7 a.m. on Election Day. That is why results with large mail-ballot counts can take longer.
House Bill 37, from Rep. Scott Conklin, a Centre County Democrat, would let counties start pre-canvassing up to a week before Election Day. It passed the House 103-99 on June 9 and was referred to the Senate State Government Committee on June 18. The bill page shows no action since: 131 days as of Tuesday, up from 128 when we first reported it on Oct. 24 in our mail ballot guide. The Senate has no voting days before the election, so the rules for this count are set.
Quick reminders
- First-time voters at their polling place need an accepted ID, such as a driver's license or passport, Spotlight PA advises.
- Date and sign the outer envelope of a mail ballot, and use the inner secrecy envelope.
- Track your ballot and find your county office at vote.pa.gov.
What happens next
Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3, according to vote.pa.gov. The Senate's next voting days are Nov. 17 and 18, according to its session calendar. HB 37 dies if it doesn't pass by Nov. 30.