LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa. — Pennsylvanians who want to vote in the Nov. 3 general election must register by Monday.
Applications can be filed online at vote.pa.gov until 11:59 p.m. Oct. 19, according to a release from the state Department of State. Applications that are mailed or delivered in person must be received at a county elections office by close of business that day.
The state says a person must register at least 15 days before an election to vote, which makes Monday the cutoff for this one. The ballot includes governor and lieutenant governor, U.S. House seats, even-numbered state Senate districts and all state House districts, the release says.
Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt said in the release, “It only takes a few minutes to ensure that you can make your voice heard in this election.”
Who can register
To vote Nov. 3, a person must be 18 or older by that day and a U.S. citizen for at least a month before then, according to the state’s registration requirements. The person also must have lived in the election district for at least 30 days before, which works out to Oct. 4. Lehigh County’s page adds an exception for voting: a qualified voter who moves from one district to another within 30 days of an election may vote in the district they moved from.
Voters who are already registered do not need to do it again unless their name, address or party has changed, the state says.
Mail ballots and Election Day
Mail ballot applications must reach county offices by 5 p.m. Oct. 27, the release says, and county offices must receive completed mail ballots by 8 p.m. Nov. 3.
Voters can also apply for and return a mail ballot in one visit to a county elections office, where applicants need a PennDOT ID number or the last four digits of their Social Security number.
The state says a voter who returns a mail ballot cannot also vote at a polling place on Election Day. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 3.
Where to go
Lehigh County’s elections office is in the Government Center at 17 S. Seventh St., Allentown, and is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. The phone number is 610-782-3194. The county’s election calendar sets a 4 p.m. cutoff Monday for registration applications, and postmarks do not count.
Northampton County’s Election Division is on the lower level of the Government Center at 669 Washington St., Easton, and is open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays. The phone number is 610-829-6260.
The division’s on-demand hours run to 6 p.m. Monday, and through Oct. 27 voters can register, apply for a ballot and receive one over the counter in the same visit, according to its schedule. A voter services pop-up Friday at Lower Saucon Township, 3700 Old Philadelphia Pike, runs 9 a.m. to noon.
The county said in a Facebook post that registration is available at pop-ups held before Oct. 19. Its flyer says later ones will not include it.