Apr 14, 2017 3 min read

Some may call them “off-year elections” after 2016’s presidential contest, but the clock is ticking for the registration deadline in advance of the May 16 primary.

Those who are not registered to vote but who hope to cast a ballot must be registered by Monday, April 17.

Registered voters who have moved or changed their name or party affiliation must also notify elections offices by that date.

Individuals must be registered in a major political party – Democratic or Republican – to vote for candidates in that party’s primary.

The Washington County elections office, where the workday starts at 9 a.m., will remain open for an extra half-hour, until 5 p.m., for last-minute registrations.

“Give them one last shot,” said Larry Spahr, elections director. “Everything has to be postmarked by then if they’re mailing it.”

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 the day of the election.

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.register.votesPA.com. Applicants who have a driver’s license or PennDOT identification card can link their signature on file with PennDOT to their voter record, which will be electronically transferred to local election offices for processing and approval.

All printed online applications and signature cards must be postmarked no later than April 17. To learn more about online voter registration, including how to upload a signature electronically, visit the “frequently asked questions” page at www.votesPA.com.

Spahr said he also had received an email from the Department of State that it is working with groups conducting mass voter-registration drives, resulting in sheaves of forms being sent to the Bureau of Commissions, Elections and Registration. Groups should instead pre-sort the forms and submit them to the proper counties.

“They are trying to get that postmark,” said Wanda Murren, spokeswoman for the Department of State, Thursday.

“Certainly if someone sends one here before the deadline, we’re not going to be rejecting someone’s application, but it’s very rare that an individual voter would send us a paper application,” she said.

Murren said the Bureau of Elections has not set a hard and fast date, but it is in the process of “winding down” its previous practice of forwarding masses of paper applications to county elections offices.

Here is contact information for election offices in Southwestern Pennsylvania:

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.; 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.; Allegheny County, Office of the Registration Commission, Room 609, County Office Building, 542 Forbes Ave., downtown Pittsburgh, PA 15219, open Monday 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., phone 412-350-4510, www.alleghenycounty.us/elections/voter-registration.aspx