Bucks Co. Mail-In Ballots Are On The Way

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — Bucks County voters who requested mail-in ballots for the November general election should be receiving them during the next week or so.

The county's elections office started sending mail-in and absentee ballots on Wednesday. Spokesman Larry King said there were about 150,000 requests and that the county will be sending out about 20,000 ballots per day.

"So, all of those that have been verified here at the Board of Elections should be out within the coming week," King said.

King said officials estimate the ballots will take two to five days to arrive once they are mailed out.

Across Pennsylvania, voters have begun receiving mail-in ballots in a presidential election in which more voters than ever are looking to vote remotely due to the coronavirus outbreak. Anyone wanting to request a mail-in ballot may do so through Oct. 27.

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"This is roughly the time they would have gone out anyway in past elections," Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie said at a meeting Wednesday. "Obviously, this election has got people very, very keyed up and concerned about making sure it goes off properly, but the timing really isn't off very much from what it was normally."

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.

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.

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.

Voters who already have requested a ballot may 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.

Officials are encouraging all mail-in and absentee voters to make sure to use the provided privacy envelope, placing their ballot inside of it before placing it into the return envelope.

"If it is not included in the secrecy envelope, it cannot be counted by this county or any other county in this commonwealth," Harvie said. "We're not allowed to even look at it."

All of the information on the outside of the return envelope must be completed and signed before it is mailed back.

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In Bucks County, voters also may deposit their envelopes at one of three vote drop boxes. They are at the Upper Bucks government services center in Quakertown, the Bucks County Administration Building in Doylestown or the Lower Bucks government services center in Levittown.

Voters may also early-vote in person at those locations. They are encouraged to make an online appointment to do so.