Voter registration deadline nears
Pennsylvania residents who plan to vote in the April 26 primary election must be registered by Monday.
Offices on the ballot include nominations for president, senator and representative; state Legislature; state attorney general, auditor general and treasurer; and delegates and alternates to the Democratic and Republican national conventions.
According to the Pennsylvania Department of State, citing U.S. Census and its own statistics, 2 million eligible citizens statewide are not registered to vote.
Registered voters who have moved or changed their names or party affiliations must also notify elections offices in the counties where they currently reside by March 28.
Individuals must be registered Democrat or Republican to vote for candidates in that party’s primary. All nonpartisan registered voters will only be able to vote for the proposed amendments to the Pennsylvania Constitution that will appear on the ballot.
To qualify to vote, one must be a United States citizen at least one month prior to the election, a resident of Pennsylvania and the election district at least 30 days before the election, and 18 years of age on or before April 26.
All county elections offices in the area are closed for Good Friday, and on Monday, Larry Spahr, director of the Washington County Elections Office, which opens at 9 a.m., plans to extend the usual closing time by a half hour to 5 p.m. to accept last-minute, hand-delivered registrations.
Mailed paper applications for new registration, change of address or change in party affiliation must be postmarked by Monday or, if hand-delivered, received in county voter registration offices by the close of business Monday.
Spahr has often entered his office the morning after a voter registration deadline to find voter registrations shoved under the door after closing time, but he will have no way of knowing if they arrived March 28 or 29, so late dropoffs will not be eligible for the April primary.
Applicants needing to register to vote, or to change their name, address or party affiliation, may do so by using the state’s online voter registration process at www.VotesPA.com, which is available in both English and Spanish.
Applicants who have a driver’s license or PennDOT identification card can link their signature on file with PennDOT to their voter record. The record will then be electronically transferred to elections offices for processing and approval.
“If you’re using the online application, you must hit the ‘submit’ button before midnight,” said Wanda Murren, spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Department of State. “But we really encourage people to do this beforehand because it still needs to be processed. Waiting until the last minute raises the slight possibility that the registration will not be able to be processed.”
People will be given an application number that they can use to track the status, but if an online applicant does not receive a voter registration card from his or her county elections office, Murren is encouraging a check with that office.
Applicants who do not have a Pennsylvania driver’s license or identification card will be able to print, sign and mail the completed online application to the elections office, or they may upload a signature electronically. Individuals who are unable to print the application may request that the Pennsylvania Department of State mail them a signature card to complete and return to the elections office. All printed online applications and signature cards must be postmarked no later than the March 28 deadline.
Pennsylvania instituted online voter registration last summer in advance of this year’s primary and general elections.
“We’re so thrilled with it,” Murren said. “There’s so much excitement about this primary.”
The state convened a news conference Feb. 19 when it was on the verge of reaching the 100,000 online voter registration milestone, and since that time, the number has climbed to 260,000 online registrations.
To learn more about online voter registration, including how to upload a signature electronically, visit the “frequently asked questions” page at www.VotesPA.com. Registration-by-mail forms may also be used to register or to change name, address or party affiliation. These forms are available at armed services recruitment centers, Area Agencies on Aging, many branches of the U.S. Postal Service, and state, county and municipal offices.
The last day to apply for an absentee ballot is April 19, but applicants are encouraged to submit their requests as soon as possible.
Here are local phone numbers and addresses:
Washington County Elections Office, 100 W. Beau St., No. 206, Washington, PA, 15301, phone 724-228-6750,
www.co.washington.pa.us, Monday hours 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Greene County Elections Office, 93 E. High St., Waynesburg, PA 15370, phone 724-852-5304, www.co.greene.pa.us, regular hours 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Westmoreland County Elections Bureau, 2 N. Main St., Suite 109, Greensburg, PA, 15601, phone 724-830-3150, www.co.westmoreland.pa.us, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Fayette County Elections Bureau, 22 E. Main St., Uniontown, PA, 15401, phone 724-430-1289, www.co.fayette.pa.us, regular hours 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.