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Tuesday is last day voters can request mail-in ballots for Nov. 5 election

Nearly 2 million ballots have been sent out across Pennsylvania

By Mike Jones 3 min read
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Tuesday is the final day to request a mail-in ballot ahead of the Nov. 5 general election as nearly two million voters in Pennsylvania have received ballots as of Friday morning.

As has happened in the past, Democrats hold a significant advantage in the number of mail-in ballot requests, both across the state and locally in Fayette, Greene and Washington counties.

While Democrats currently have a roughly 2-to-1 advantage over Republicans in the number of mail-in ballots returned – both locally and statewide – the party’s advantage has shrunk this election compared to 2020. During that presidential election year, more than three million ballots were requested, with Democrats asking for about two-thirds of them and Republicans receiving about one-quarter of the total.

Fayette County Elections Director Mary Beth Kuznik said she’s seeing a similar trend locally, which she attributes to a variety of factors, including the global pandemic that was raging this time four years ago.

“This is the second presidential election for no-excuse mail-in voting,” Kuznik said, alluding to Act 77 of 2019 that expanded mail-in voting to anyone rather than just those who were requesting an absentee ballot.

“2020 was so unprecedented because it was COVID and the first year to have (universal mail-in voting). It sounds good, but we don’t have a large body of data to compare to,” Kuznik said of the response to mail-in ballots this year despite requests being down compared to 2020.

In Fayette County, there have been 14,521 mail-in ballots requested as of Friday morning, with 8,169 of them returned so far, according to state Department of State statistics. That overall number is down slightly from the more than 20,000 that were requested four years ago.

That’s a similar trend to what’s happening in neighboring counties. There have been 30,836 mail-in ballots requested in Washington County so far – down from more than 42,000 in 2020 – and 19,842 have been returned. Greene County has had 3,492 applications – compared to more than 5,000 four years ago – with 1,908 being returned as of Friday morning.

Voters have until 5 p.m. Tuesday to request their mail-in ballot or go to their county’s elections office and ask for an “on demand” mail-in ballot that they can use to immediately vote and return after the staff checks their registration. Kuznik asked people to be patient through the process since they are getting flooded by people asking for the “on demand” mail-in ballots.

“It’s been unprecedented with the number of voters doing the mail-in ballot over the counter,” Kuznik said. “It goes on until Tuesday, and it is considered ‘on demand’ using a mail-in ballot.”

Kuznik said if someone waits until the last minute to request a ballot, they should fill it out immediately upon receiving it in their mail and personally return it to their local elections office rather than mailing it back since it’s unlikely to be received in time before the 8 p.m. Election Day deadline on Nov. 5.

To request a mail-in ballot, voters should submit an application in person at their county’s elections office, or go online to vote.pa.gov and fill out the information before 5 p.m. Tuesday.

INFO BOX

Mail-in ballot status as of Friday morning

Pennsylvania (64.7%)

Requested – 1,985,329

Returned – 1,284,742

Fayette County (56.3%)

Requested – 14,521

Returned – 8,169

Greene County (54.6%)

Requested – 3,492

Returned – 1,908

Washington County (64.3%)

Requested – 30,836

Returned – 19,842

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