PA Election 2020: Where Is My Mail-In Ballot?

PENNSYLVANIA — Mail-in ballots have begun to be sent out across Pennsylvania, with individual counties processing ballots at different speeds.

The question of when you will get your ballot, however, is a trickier one.

As officials have said from the beginning, the sooner you request your ballot, the better, and the more likely that it will arrive promptly. But because each county administers this separately, a process which includes approving, printing, and mailing, there is no universal "receive by" date. For many, it could be any day.

Many counties, including Philadelphia and Montgomery in southeastern Pennsylvania, have already sent out hundreds of thousands of ballots. Montgomery County officials said that 192,000 ballots received initial approval last week, and printing and mailing of that initial volley will be completed by Oct. 7. They anticipate sending out thousands every day following.

And the other factor which will determine when you receive your ballot is, of course, the U.S. Postal Service, and the degree to which the historic number of mail-in voters this election stresses its capacity.

In Pennsylvania, election remain confident in a secure election, and that voting by mail works.

"Mail-in or absentee voting offers eligible voters a secure, convenient, accessible and, during the COVID-19 pandemic, an especially safe option of voting in the privacy of their own homes," Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar said.

So despite Election Day being a month away, many around the state have already received and cast their ballots. As evidence of local officials' confidence that ballots are being received, Philadelphia began opening some of its 15 satellite voter services offices, where ballots can be dropped off, on Sept. 29. Ballot drop-off boxes opened in 11 different locations on Oct. 3 in Montgomery County.

Statewide, the first ballots were initially cleared for printing back on Sept. 17. It would've happened earlier, but for a court case in which Pennsylvania Democrats were successful in getting the Green Party presidential candidate, Howie Hawkins, kicked off the ballot in the state.

Voters can also check the status of their registration and their ballot — including whether their application has been processed or mailed out — via the state's online portal.

However, this feature can take time to update, and, along with other online services, it was disrupted by an outage that struck the Pennsylvania Department of State over the weekend (Boockvar said "the outage was due to an issue with the contractor's equipment, and there is no evidence of malicious interference").

The deadline to request a mail-in ballot is approaching. All requests must be in by Oct. 27. See here to register and request a ballot.