Guide
How Pennsylvania Voters Can Avoid Making Common Vote-By-Mail Ballot Mistakes
In Pennsylvania, more than 3 million voters applied for a vote-by-mail ballot in the 2020 general election. At Common Cause Pennsylvania, our top priority is making sure that voters have the information they need to ensure their ballot arrives safely and is counted.
To learn about how you can avoid making common vote-by-mail ballot mistakes that could result in your ballot not being processed or counted correctly, read on — then, use our sharing tool to send this information to your friends and family members.
When applying for your vote-by-mail ballot:
- Return your vote-by-mail ballot application by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 10, 2022. You can apply online, mail in your request form to your county election office, or apply in-person at any location designed by your county election office.
- Track your ballot application, so that you know it was received and accepted.
After you receive your ballot:
- Read the instructions that come with your ballot.
- Fill out your ballot fully (both sides!), either in black or blue ink.
- Make sure you completely fill in the bubbles for your chosen candidate, without adding any stray marks on the ballot.
- Insert your ballot into the secrecy envelope, and seal it. Do not sign this envelope or write on it, and don’t put anything else in this envelope either.
- Insert the small white secrecy envelope with the ballot sealed inside into the large outer ballot return envelope.
- Complete the voter’s declaration on the back of the outer ballot return envelope, printing your name and address, and then signing and dating it.
- Make sure you write the address you’re registered to vote at, not the address you’re mailing your ballot from (if they’re different).
- When you sign the back of the envelope, make sure you write the date that you’re signing, rather than your birthday.
- Don’t forget to track your ballot!
When returning your ballot:
- You can return your ballot in one of the following ways: mailing it to your county election office, or at one of your county’s drop-off locations (including drop boxes, satellite election offices, and county elections offices).
- Remember to put postage on your ballot.
- Your ballot must be received by 8:00pm on May 17, 2022. We recommend you mail your ballot early.
- If you are planning on dropping your ballot off at one of your county’s drop-off sites, make sure to do so by 8:00 p.m. on May 17th.
- You are the only person who can return your ballot.
Other important things to remember:
- If you don’t receive your ballot in time to vote-by-mail, you can cast your ballot provisionally at your polling location.
- If you want to vote in-person (but have already requested your ballot) you can — you’ll just have to bring your ballot and the outer declaration envelope into the voting center with you and sign a declaration surrendering your ballot.
- And, if you face any difficulties voting or just have a question about casting your ballot, call 866-OUR-VOTE, the nonpartisan voter election hotline.
It’s crucial that your family and friends have this information. You can play a critical role in ensuring that their ballots are counted in the November election.
