Here's how early voting works in Pennsylvania for the 2024 election
UPDATE: The deadline to complete this process for the 2024 election passed on Oct. 29, the last day to apply for a mail-in ballot in Pennsylvania.
You don't have to wait for Election Day to cast your ballot in Pennsylvania. If you want to beat the crowds at the polling place, or just get first dibs on an "I Voted" sticker, Pennsylvania has a form of early voting. Here's how you can do it and what you need to know.
According to the Pennsylvania Department of State, every county in the commonwealth will be offering "over-the-counter" voting, the state's closest thing to early voting, in the 2024 general election.
This process has also been called mail ballot voting "on demand."
It works like this:
● you request a mail-in ballot in person at a county elections office
● receive and complete it onsite
● return it to a drop box, all in the same trip
When and where can I vote early in Pennsylvania?
If you want to vote according to the process above, just head to your county elections office.
According to the Pennsylvania Department of State's website, linked here, all 67 counties now have mail ballots available.
You can only vote on demand at your county elections office while the office is open, so make sure you're aware of the hours and locations of Pennsylvania county elections offices.
The commonwealth keeps a master list of all 67 counties' election office addresses, phone numbers and websites at the link above.
Where are the voting machines?
There's not going to be a voting machine set up for you early voters – if you've seen elsewhere that Pennsylvania has "early voting," those resources were referring to this hybrid method involving filling out mail ballots in person.
If you want to vote on a voting machine, you'll have to cast your ballot on Election Day.
When is the deadline to vote early?
The last possible day to vote early on demand is Oct. 29, 2024 – this is also the deadline to request your mail-in ballot.
Voters who apply and subsequently receive a ballot will need to ensure their completed ballots are received by 8 p.m. on Election Day – postmark dates are not accepted. For this reason, Philadelphia City Commissioner Omar Sabir is encouraging early voters in Philadelphia to take their ballots to the city's mail-in dropoff locations. He said that can help ease any concerns about the time it can take to go through the mail.
"If you have a ballot in your possession right now, please take it to one of our Eagles green dropbox locations," said Sabir. Dropoff locations are also available at the satellite election offices.
Voters can apply for an emergency absentee ballot if an unexpected change in plans arises after the deadline for mail-in ballot applications.
"That's if you have any unexpected business, or you're going to be outside of the county, or [unexpected] illness, or incarceration," Sabir said.
An emergency absentee application can be obtained from the Board of Elections in person or by mail. Applications and completed ballots must be received by the County Board of Elections by 8 p.m. on Election Day.
How to cure your mail-in ballot if you filled it out wrong
The Philadelphia City Commissioners has published a list of voters whose mail-in ballots have issues. You should check out the list linked on this page on Phila.gov to determine if there is an issue - it will be listed next to your name. Or click here for the full list - in alphabetical order by first name.
On a desktop computer, you can quickly search for your name by opening the list, pressing the CTRL + F keys and then typing into the text box. On mobile browsers, you can press the share button or expanded menu button (on Google Chrome, this looks like 3 dots ...) and look for the "find in page" option.
For voters in Montgomery County, officials have steps of what to do if there are issues with mail-in ballots and to make sure the ballot is counted.
If your name appears on the lists above, you should either complete an online request form for a replacement ballot, visit a satellite elections office, or cast a provisional ballot at your polling place on Election Day.