Nearly 450K Pennsylvania voters apply to cast mail-in, absentee ballots

Nearly 450,000 people have applied to vote in the June 2 primary by mail-in and absentee ballots, and the number is expected to grow as people look for an alternative to voting in person because of coronavirus concerns, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State.

The agency is urging voters who plan to vote by mail to register soon. The deadline is 5 p.m. May 26.

“We are expecting more calls as the election draws near,” said Department of State spokeswoman Wanda Murren, adding that the agency is looking to add staff to man their voter hotline.

There are two different ballots that can be filed via mail: Absentee ballots for those who will be away from home on the day of the primary because of school, work, military service and other reasons; and mail-in ballots, which are new this year.

Gov. Tom Wolf signed the new voter reform bill allowing mail-in ballots last Oct. 31. Residents can vote by mail up to 50 days before an election and be placed on a list to permanently receive a ballot application by mail.

As of Thursday, the Department of State has processed registrations for 326,395 mail-in ballots and 117,489 absentee ballots, according to Murren.

In the 2016 primary, about 84,000 absentee ballots were cast statewide.

In Western Pennsylvania, Allegheny County had the most applications processed for mail-in and absentee ballots as of Thursday, with 17,854; followed by Westmoreland (11,354 applications), Butler (4,881), Beaver (3,947), Fayette (1,880), Armstrong (1,229) and Greene (941).

Voters can register online for mail-in or absentee ballots, although those voters must have some form of PennDOT identification.

Voters who cannot file online or lack a printer can call the Department of State hotline at 877-VOTESPA (868-3772) to request a printed copy of the application to register for the absentee or mail-in ballot. If voters are without PennDOT identification, they can use their Social Security number for identification for the hard copy of the registration.

“Voters are encouraged to apply early if they want a mail ballot, especially if they are using a paper application,” said Murren.