{"id":447,"date":"2020-10-21T14:41:28","date_gmt":"2020-10-21T14:41:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/pennsylvania\/resources\/how-pennsylvania-voters-can-avoid-making-common-vote-by-mail-ballot-mistakes\/"},"modified":"2020-10-21T14:41:28","modified_gmt":"2020-10-21T14:41:28","slug":"how-pennsylvania-voters-can-avoid-making-common-vote-by-mail-ballot-mistakes","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/pennsylvania\/resources\/how-pennsylvania-voters-can-avoid-making-common-vote-by-mail-ballot-mistakes\/","title":{"rendered":"How Pennsylvania Voters Can Avoid Making Common Vote-By-Mail Ballot Mistakes"},"template":"","class_list":["post-447","resource","type-resource","status-publish","hentry","resource_type-guide"],"acf":{"details":{"summary":"","featured_image":"","resource_type":225,"authors":null,"related_issues":[108,471],"related_work":[111],"location":41},"sidebar":{"helper_enable_sidebar":false,"helper_media_contact":{"heading":"Media Contact","manually_enter_person":false,"person":null,"name":"","role":"","phone":"","email":""},"helper_links_downloads":{"heading":"Links & Downloads","links":null}},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In Pennsylvania, <\/span><b>more than 3 <\/b><b><i>million<\/i><\/b><b> voters applied for a vote-by-mail ballot<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> 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.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">To learn about how you can <\/span><b>avoid making common vote-by-mail ballot mistakes<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> that could result in your ballot not being processed or counted correctly, read on -- <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/share.commoncause.org\/2020\/10\/21\/pennsylvaniavbm\"><b>then, use our sharing tool to send this information to your friends and family members.<\/b><\/a>\r\n\r\n<b>When applying for your vote-by-mail ballot:<\/b>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Return your vote-by-mail ballot application by 5:00 p.m. on <\/span><b>Tuesday, May 10, 2022. <\/b>Y<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">ou can <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pavoterservices.pa.gov\/OnlineAbsenteeApplication\/#\/OnlineAbsenteeBegin\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">apply online<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, mail in your request form to your <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.votespa.com\/Resources\/Pages\/Contact-Your-Election-Officials.aspx\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">county election office<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, or apply in-person at any location designed by your <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.votespa.com\/Resources\/Pages\/Contact-Your-Election-Officials.aspx\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">county election office<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pavoterservices.pa.gov\/pages\/ballottracking.aspx\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Track your ballot application<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, so that you know it was received and accepted.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<b>After you receive your ballot:<\/b>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Read the instructions that come with your ballot.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Fill out your ballot fully (both sides!), either in black or blue ink.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Make sure you completely fill in the bubbles for your chosen candidate, without adding any stray marks on the ballot.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li><b>Insert your ballot into the secrecy envelope, and seal it.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Do not sign this envelope or write on it, and don\u2019t put anything else in this envelope either.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li><b>Insert the small white secrecy envelope with the ballot sealed inside into the large outer ballot return envelope.<\/b><\/li>\r\n \t<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Complete the <\/span><b>voter\u2019s declaration<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> on the back of the outer ballot return envelope, printing your name and address, and then signing and dating it.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Make sure you write the address you\u2019re registered to vote at, not the address you\u2019re mailing your ballot from (if they\u2019re different).<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">When you sign the back of the envelope, make sure you write<\/span><b> the date that you\u2019re signing<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, rather than your birthday.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Don\u2019t forget to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pavoterservices.pa.gov\/pages\/ballottracking.aspx\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">track your ballot<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">!<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<b>When returning your ballot:<\/b>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">You can return your ballot in one of the following ways: mailing it to your <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.votespa.com\/Resources\/Pages\/Contact-Your-Election-Officials.aspx\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">county election office<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, or at one of your county\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.votespa.com\/Voting-in-PA\/Pages\/Return-Ballot.aspx\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">drop-off locations<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (including drop boxes, satellite election offices, and county elections offices).<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Remember to put postage on your ballot<\/b><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Your ballot must be received by<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b> 8:00pm on May 17, 2022. <\/b>We recommend you <strong>mail your ballot early.<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you are planning on dropping your ballot off at one of your county\u2019s drop-off sites, make sure to do so <\/span><b>by 8:00 p.m. on May 17th.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">You are the <\/span><b>only<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> person who can return your ballot.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<b>Other important things to remember:<\/b>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you don\u2019t receive your ballot in time to vote-by-mail, you can cast your ballot provisionally at your polling location.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you want to vote in-person (but have already requested your ballot) you can -- you\u2019ll just have to bring your ballot and the outer declaration envelope into the voting center with you and sign a declaration surrendering your ballot.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">And, if you face any difficulties voting or just have a question about casting your ballot, call <\/span><b>866-OUR-VOTE<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, the nonpartisan voter election hotline.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<b>It\u2019s 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.<\/b>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/share.commoncause.org\/2020\/10\/21\/pennsylvaniavbm\"><b>Share this information with 5 friends by using our share tools -- which will allow you to share this information via Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, text message, or email.<\/b><\/a>"}}]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.6 (Yoast SEO v27.1.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How Pennsylvania Voters Can Avoid Making Common Vote-By-Mail Ballot Mistakes - Common Cause Pennsylvania<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/pennsylvania\/resources\/how-pennsylvania-voters-can-avoid-making-common-vote-by-mail-ballot-mistakes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Pennsylvania Voters Can Avoid Making Common Vote-By-Mail Ballot Mistakes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/pennsylvania\/resources\/how-pennsylvania-voters-can-avoid-making-common-vote-by-mail-ballot-mistakes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Common Cause Pennsylvania\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/pennsylvania\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/common-cause-share-image.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/pennsylvania\/resources\/how-pennsylvania-voters-can-avoid-making-common-vote-by-mail-ballot-mistakes\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/pennsylvania\/resources\/how-pennsylvania-voters-can-avoid-making-common-vote-by-mail-ballot-mistakes\/\",\"name\":\"How Pennsylvania Voters Can Avoid Making Common Vote-By-Mail Ballot Mistakes - 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