September 10, 2019
Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf announced this week that applications for absentee ballots will now be conducted online ahead of the Nov. 5 election.
Getting an absentee ballot in Pennsylvania will be easier starting with this fall's election, as Gov. Tom Wolf announced that applications for the ballots can soon be submitted online.
Voters who can't make it to the polls in the Nov. 5 election will be able to apply for an absentee ballot using Pennsylvania's mobile-friendly, online application site, Wolf's office said on Monday. The application site – votesPA.com/ApplyAbsentee – goes live Monday, Sept. 16, the first day registered voters are eligible to apply for absentee ballots.
In addition to the option of completing the process by hand and through the mail, applicants will also be able complete an online form, which is forwarded to their local county elections offices for processing. To fill out the form, applicants will need a PennDOT driver license or ID number.
By 2020, applicants without a PennDOT number also will be able to use the online absentee application system.
Voters who apply for the absentee ballot online still must still hand deliver or mail their completed ballots to their county election offices by 5 p.m. on the Friday before the election. This year, that's Nov. 1.
For more information about absentee ballot requirements, click here.
In New Jersey, registered voters can download copies of the vote-by-mail ballot applications for their respective counties, but those applications cannot be submitted online. Completed vote-by-mail ballot applications in New Jersey must be printed and delivered to county offices by mail or in person.
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