On Saturday Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt explained in a just under seven minute video what a voter should do if they applied for a mail ballot but now want or need to vote at the polls.
“If you have already successfully voted by mail, you are not eligible to vote in person on Election Day. There’s no need — you’ve already voted,” Schmidt said. “However, some Pennsylvania voters may find themselves in one of three situations.”
• They requested their mail ballot and did not receive it;
• They requested their mail ballot and received it, but have decided to vote in person
instead; or
• They completed their mail ballot, returned it, then became aware that their ballot
packet contained an error that will prevent it from being counted. That could include forgetting to include the secrecy envelope or accidentally writing their birthdate on the outer envelope instead of the current date. Voters in those situations have two options:
• They can go to their county elections office or designated satellite location during business hours, request a replacement mail ballot, complete it there and return it to
staff immediately. Or, they can take the ballot packet with them and return it before
8 p.m. on Election Day.
• Second, they can go to their polling place on Election Day and vote by provisional ballot.
“A provisional ballot is the type of ballot a voter fills out when election officials need more time to verify that voter’s eligibility,” Schmidt said. “Among those who might be given the option to vote by provisional ballot are those whose name is not listed in the poll book at their polling location.”
“Each county board of elections reviews every provisional ballot individually after Election Day to determine whether it can be counted. That review includes ensuring the voter did not successfully vote by mail ballot before completing the provisional ballot.”
Schmidt on Election night will be providing updates to the community at large and the media beginning after 8:30 p.m. from Harrisburg officials said.
You can watch the live Election night updates beginning at 8:30 am at these two links:
LIVE STREAM:
pacast.com/live/gov
governor.pa.gov/live/
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