PA To Offer Online Application for Absentee Ballots

PENNSYLVANIA — Pennsylvania residents will be able to apply online for an absentee ballot starting with the November election.

To apply online, visit the application site at votesPA.com/ApplyAbsentee, which will go live on Monday, Sept. 16.

“Applying for an absentee ballot online will make the process faster and more accessible for thousands of voters,” said Governor Tom Wolf. “This builds on the option to register to vote online which Pennsylvania launched four years ago and it will provide an easier way for people to exercise their right to vote.”

The information from the online form will be forwarded directly to the appropriate county elections office for processing. Voters must still mail or hand-deliver their completed ballot to their county election office by the deadline, which is 5:00 p.m. on the Friday before the election, or Nov. 1 this year.

Initially, online absentee ballot applications will require a PennDOT driver license or ID number in order to be processed electronically. The department is planning an update by 2020 that will allow use by applicants who do not have a PennDOT number.

The PA Election Code allows registered voters to apply for an absentee ballot up until one week before an election, which is just three days before the deadline to submit a voted absentee ballot. This year, the deadline to apply by paper or online is 5 p.m. Tuesday, October 29.

The system is currently accessible to all domestic Pennsylvania voters, and will be available to military and overseas voters by 2020.