Pa. voter registration deadline is Tuesday
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
With the midterm elections less than a month away, residents in Pennsylvania have a short window left to register to vote.
Tuesday’s deadline is the last chance for Pennsylvanians to get their registrations ready for the Nov. 6 contests, and luckily, there are many ways to complete the task in time.
There are three options to register to vote in Pennsylvania: online, in person or by mail.
The easiest way is to go to www.votespa.com and click on “Register To Vote.” The state will obtain your signature from its transportation department records — if you have a Pennsylvania driver’s license or Pennsylvania Department of Transportation identification card — or you can upload a digital image of your signature or print and mail the signed application to your county’s election division.
In person, you can register at your county’s registration office. In Allegheny County, applicants can register on Monday and Tuesday during business hours in Room 609 of the County Office Building on Forbes Avenue and Ross Street in Downtown Pittsburgh. You also can register at many state government offices, and at any PennDOT license center.
You also can download the voter application on the Pennsylvania Department of State’s website and send it, by mail, to your county’s voter registration office. These applications are handed out at various state, county and municipal offices, as well as Armed Services Recruitment Centers, Area Agencies on Aging and many branches of the U.S. Postal Service. Be sure that your mailed application is postmarked by Oct. 9, though.
Keep in mind the following when registering to vote for the first time: You must be a United States citizen for at least a month prior to the election, a resident of Pennsylvania and the election district at least 30 days before the election, and 18 years of age on or before Election Day. Also, you must register the address where you actually live — not at a property or business you own.
After your application is submitted, it will be reviewed by your county’s registration office. A voter registration card will be sent in the mail, and you should receive it within 14 days.
If you know you cannot go to vote at your precinct in person on Election Day — whether because you’re a college student, on vacation or in the military, among other reasons — you have until 5 p.m. Oct. 30 to apply for an absentee ballot. To do this, fill out the paper absentee ballot application retrievable online and send it to your county’s election office. Members of the military can apply at any time.
The stakes are high on Nov. 6. Voters in Pennsylvania will choose their next governor, a U.S. senator, a new congressional delegation and state legislative posts.