Time is running out for Pennsylvanians to register to vote

• Sam Dunklau
  BioRecent Stories

  

  Sam Dunklau was WITF’s Capitol Bureau Chief from 2020 – 2023.

Pennsylvanians have until Oct. 24 to register to vote for the November election if they haven’t already.

The Department of State offers an online form at vote.pa.gov. Pennsylvanians can also pick up paper forms at a number of state agencies, including state parks. Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration expanded the number of agencies allowed to carry those earlier this fall.

Dauphin County Elections Director Jerry Feaser said the deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot is also looming. He said voters should not wait until the November 1st cutoff to ask for one.

“Now’s the time to make that decision,” Feaser said “If you wait until November 1st – depending on where you are in the state – it’s very unlikely that I may be able to get that ballot in the mail to you, you get it, vote it, and get it back to us.”

Feaser is among those recommending voters apply for mail-in ballots directly with their county elections office or the Department of State. At this point, he adds, voters should not use pre-filled application forms from “well-intentioned” third party advocacy groups.

“There’s always those groups [that have] mismatched information or they’ve got old information,” he said. “Someone may have already moved from an address [and] we already have them registered at the new address. It causes voter confusion.”

According to state law, you must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years old, and have lived at the same Pennsylvania address for 30 days to be eligible to vote. That means you need to have had the same address since Oct. 9th.

You can also check your registration status online or with your county election board – and update it if you’ve changed your address before the cutoff date or if you’ve changed your name.