Oct 15, 2025 By Lori Miller 4 min read

With less than three weeks to go until the Nov. 4 general election, thousands of mail-in and absentee ballots are now arriving in mailboxes across Southwestern Pennsylvania for voters to decide a range of positions from local races to statewide judicial seats.

Elections officials in Washington and Fayette counties began sending out mail-in ballots last week, while Greene County started mailing most of them in early October, giving voters plenty of time to make their selections and return the ballots before Election Day.

“The (elections staff) did a fantastic job getting them together and getting them out early,” Greene County Commission Chairman Jared Edgreen said. “With the mail, there’s that (delivery and return timeline), so we’re glad they were able to get them out quickly.”

Edgreen, who also chairs the county’s elections board, said the staff began sending out the mail-in ballots on Oct. 3, and the office is already receiving some of them back. So far, the county elections office has sent out 1,942 mail-in ballots, with the most recent batch going out Tuesday morning as more applications come pouring in.

“Most of our constituents should have them already, with some of them getting them this week,” Edgreen said. “No issues. We’re looking good and excited for this (election).”

Washington County elections officials began sending the first batch of their mail-in ballots last Wednesday and continued to do so over the next two days. Some people received them late last week, although the Columbus Day holiday, when there was no mail delivery Monday, may have delayed some by a day or two.

“We know people have them,” Washington County Elections Director Melanie Ostrander said. “People began returning them (Tuesday) morning and we’ve been getting phone calls. With no mail on Columbus Day, it may have delayed some of them sent out on Friday, but they should be hitting the mailboxes now.”

Ostrander said they’ve sent out about 15,000 mail-in ballots so far, meaning interest is higher than she anticipated since she predicted they would by sending about 13,000 for this election. She reminded voters that they have until Oct. 20 to register for the election and until Oct. 28 to request a mail-in ballot. That late deadline to request a ballot means people should apply in person or online and bring their mail-in ballot packages back as quickly as possible since they must be returned in the mail or by the voter to the elections office no later than 8 p.m. on Election Day.

Ostrander reminded everyone to follow the instructions on the mail-in ballot package and to sign and date their return envelope. A signature is required, and while a federal appeals court recently ruled that a date is not needed in order to be counted, Ostrander suggested people continue to do both in case there are unexpected changes that come down over the next three weeks.

“Regardless of what the courts say, we’re telling everyone to date them (in addition to signing them) because you never know what’s going to happen with these cases,” she said.

In Fayette County, the elections staff mailed the ballots on Friday, although the holiday delayed their delivery until Tuesday at the earliest. As of Tuesday morning, Elections Director MaryBeth Kuznik said the office had sent out 8,289 mail-in ballots, with more applications coming in.

“We track-and-trace our ballots through the post office and saw they were in the Pittsburgh distribution office over the weekend,” Kuznik said. “They should start hitting mailboxes (Tuesday), although we’re asking voters to give them a few extra days as the carriers get them out.”

This year’s general election features a variety of municipal and school board races, along with some county row office positions. But the election also includes competitive races for state Superior and Commonwealth courts, and retention decisions for three state Supreme Court justices.

“These local municipal and school board elections affect your daily lives even more than the presidential or nationwide elections do,” Kuznik said. “We’re on a good schedule. We’re in good shape here in Fayette.”