(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Please share: important information and deadlines on PA voting! [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-10-15 Now is the time in the election cycle where it is all about ACTION, and I’m here to try to do my part. As I’ve written about before, I am a volunteer for the PA Dems Voter Assistance Hotline, where we answer any questions or handle any problems that PA voters may have. So I have easy access to the best information and advice about voting in the Keystone State. So I wanted to share some important information and deadlines regarding voting in the all-important Keystone State, in the hopes that Kossacks can share it far and wide with anyone you know in Pennsylvania. So here goes. Voter Registration in PA The deadline for registering to vote in PA is Monday, October 21 (5:00 pm for registrations delivered by mail or in person to the county elections office or 11:59 pm for online applications). Unlike a number of other states, PA does not have same-day registration, so the next six days are crunch time for voter registration. There are three ways people can register to vote in PA: Online here (the quickest and easiest option — especially at this point in time). here (the quickest and easiest option — especially at this point in time). In person at any of the following locations: Your county election office. Any Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDot) center. Many state government offices. You can also to register to vote by mail, but at this late date I would not recommend that. A few other things to note about voter registration: Folks can check their voter registration status with the state’s Voter Registration Status Tracker. If someone’s voter registration status is “inactive” they CAN vote. They may need to sign a statement at the polling place confirming their eligibility to vote. (The “inactive” status indicates that someone has not voted in more than five years.) Voting by Mail-In Ballot in PA 2024 will make just the second presidential election where Pennsylvanians will be able to vote by mail, so it’s still a relatively new thing for the state. The deadline to apply for a vote-by-mail (VBM) application in PA is Tuesday, October 29 at 5:00 pm. There are three ways to apply for a vote-by-mail ballot in PA: Online using the Online Application. In person at your county election office. Voters can also request a VBM ballot by mail, but at this late date I don’t recommend that. Voters have three options for returning their completed VBM application: Dropping them in a dropbox (if available) in the voter’s county (you can find dropbox locations at www.iwillvote.com). Returning them to your county election office or any early voting/satellite office in the voter’s county; you can find those locations at the county election office’s website. Putting them in the mail, although voters should allow at least a week for the ballot to get to the election office in time. All mail-in ballots must be received at the county election office by 8:00 pm on November 5 — regardless of when they are postmarked. Unlike some states that will accept mail-in ballots that are postmarked by November 5, even if they are received after November 5, PA does not do that. Voters can check the status of their mail-in ballot at the state’s Mail-In Ballot Status Tracker. Please avoid the 3 most common reasons why mail-in ballots are rejected in PA : No signature : a voter must include their signature in the designated box on the outside mailing envelope. : a voter must include their signature in the designated box on the outside mailing envelope. No date or incorrect date : a voter must include the date that they’re submitting the mail-in ballot (NOT their birthdate or any other date) in the designated boxes on the outside mailing envelope (underneath the signature box). : a voter must include the date that they’re submitting the mail-in ballot (NOT their birthdate or any other date) in the designated boxes on the outside mailing envelope (underneath the signature box). No secrecy envelope : a voter must insert their completed ballot in the secrecy envelope before putting it in the outside mailing envelope. Early Voting in PA PA does not have early in-person voting using a voting machine, as many other states do. However, a voter can go to their county election office, or any satellite locations set up in their county, and request a VBM ballot, fill it out right there and return it — so it’s somewhat similar to early voting using a voting machine in that you can vote early in person (using a “mail-in” ballot even though you’re not actually mailing it in). I’ll also note that up until October 21, a person can go to their county election office to register to vote and complete a mail-in ballot all in the same trip. As I said at the start of this diary, I hope everyone reading this will share this information with any connections you have in Pennsylvania. I’ve learned firsthand that given how new mail-in voting is in the state, there’s still a lot of confusion and there are a lot of people that don’t even realize that they can vote before election day. Let’s do this everyone!!! Let’s ELECT KAMALA HARRIS and TIM WALZ, because we’re not going back. 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