Schmidt says state has received 2 million mail ballot applications ahead of Oct. 29 deadline
Roughly 2 million mail ballot applications have been received and approved by Pennsylvania county elections offices and almost 70% have been returned, Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt said Monday during a media briefing.
The state isn’t expecting the same volume of mail ballots it saw in 2020 during the pandemic, Schmidt added, but he asked that voters exercise patience with county election workers if they opt to return their mail ballots in person. “They’re working around the clock to ensure that everyone who is eligible to vote can vote,” he said.
Schmidt reminded voters that Tuesday, Oct. 29 at 5 p.m. is the last day to apply for a mail-in ballot to vote in the Nov. 5 election, which can be done online at vote.pa.gov or at county elections offices. The deadline to return a completed mail ballot is 8 p.m. on Election Day, he added, meaning the ballot has to physically be at the election office by that time — not just postmarked before then.
Schmidt also addressed recent instances of misinformation and suspected voter fraud. “Last week, we even had nuns in Erie falsely accused of voter fraud,” he noted. “Disinformation is designed to discourage confidence and participation in our electoral system, and we expect it will continue to spread in the coming weeks, so voters should be on alert.”
https://penncapital-star.com/briefs/pennsylvania-schmidt-begins-daily-election-briefings-with-updates-on-mail-ballots-and-fraud-cases/
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Requesting a mailed ballot and failing to return it by the deadline does not mean you cannot vote. YOU CAN STILL VOTE in person on Election Day.
1) Be sure to tell your poll supervisor that you received a mailed ballot but you didn't mail it back.
2) Be sure to have positive photo ID and proof of address. The officials will check your signature against the record.
3) Your vote will be held in provisional status until after all the first votes go through. The poll officials need to be sure it's not a duplicate, and then your vote will be counted.
