VOTER RESOURCES | Upper Perk Democrats

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(1) you are voting at your polling place for the first time,

(2) you are a newly registered PA voter

Be a U.S. citizen 30 days before Election Day
Be 18 years old on Election Day
Be a resident of Pennsylvania and your election district 30 days before Election Day
Not be confined in a penal institution, community confinement facility, or other alternative correctional facility for conviction of a felony unless you will be released prior to the election
Have not been convicted of violating any provision of the Pennsylvania Election Code within the last four years

you surrender your entire mail ballot package (including the ballot and larger return envelope) at your polling place
AND you sign a statement that you did not vote by mail.

If you’re unable to do one or both of these things, you may still vote at your polling place on Election Day using a Provisional Ballot.

If you already submitted a mail-in or absentee ballot, you cannot vote at your polling place on Election Day.

Yes. Voters must apply every year to receive ballots in the mail for the remainder of that year (and through the third Monday in February of the following year). If you are on the annual list, your county board of elections will mail an annual application to you in February of each year. Complete and return that application to receive ballots for each election in which you are eligible to vote that year.
If you're not already on the annual mail-in voter list, you can request to be placed on it.

When you receive your mail-in or absentee ballot, make sure you read all the instructions, and make sure you vote both sides of the ballot, if applicable.
Put your completed ballot in the inner secrecy envelope that indicates "Official Election Ballot." Do NOT make any marks on the secrecy envelope.
Then put the secrecy envelope inside the pre-addressed outer return envelope where the voter signs.
Complete the voter's declaration by signing and writing the current date. Be sure to seal the outer envelope.
Return your mail ballot to your county board of elections by mail, in person at your county election office or by dropping it off at another location designated by your county board of elections.
If you return your ballot by mail, you need a postage stamp for the envelope.

If you received a mail ballot but did not complete it, you may surrender your incomplete mail ballot, along with both envelopes, at your polling place and vote a regular ballot.
If you did vote your mail ballot and returned it to your county board of elections, you are not eligible to vote at your polling place. If you believe that you are eligible to vote in person, you can vote by provisional ballot. Your provisional ballot will be reviewed by the county board of elections after Election Day.
If you requested a mail ballot but did not receive it, or you do not have it to surrender at your polling place, you may vote by provisional ballot at your polling place.
Remember that it is unlawful to fraudulently vote more than once in the same election.

The Department of State has confidence in the security of Pennsylvania's election process and mail ballot system.

Each mail ballot packet sent to a voter has a unique ID number. That same number is also printed on the pre-addressed outer return envelope where the voter must sign. When either type of mail ballot (absentee or no-excuse mail-in) is received and pre-canvassed, the unique ID number is scanned into the statewide system. To issue a second ballot to a voter, the county must first cancel the ballot initially issued to the voter. In other words, each voter can receive only one ballot. If a voter attempts to vote a second ballot, the system will flag that there is already a ballot from that voter.

If a voter returns a mail ballot, their record is marked, and that notation is included in the poll book to ensure that poll workers are aware that the voter's ballot has been cast. The department also updated the poll book format to move the names of voters who have returned their ballots to a separate list at the end of the poll book. Those voters can only vote at a polling place by means of a provisional ballot, which is reviewed by the county after the election. If the county determines that a voter did, in fact, already cast a mail ballot, the voter's provisional ballot will not be counted.