Voting Information Center
Monday, May 4, 2026
Deadline to Register to Vote in the Primary Election
Tuesday, May 12, 2026
Last day to request a mail-in or absentee ballot or vote early in-person at the Courthouse
Tuesday, May 19, 2026
ELECTION DAY
Polls open 7am-8pm
Tuesday, May 19, 2026
Absentee/mail-in ballots must be received by 8pm by mail or in the drop box. Postmarks do not count.
Every Vote Counts
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Your Voice Matters
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Every Vote Counts ▴ Your Voice Matters ▴
Frequently Asked Questions
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To vote in Pennsylvania, you must meet the following requirements:
Be a citizen of the United States for at least one month before the election.
Have a registered address in Pennsylvania and the election district in which you want to register and vote for at least 30 days before the next election.
Be at least 18 years of age on or before the day of the next election.
You CANNOT vote if you are:
Currently serving a prison sentence for a felony conviction.
Deemed mentally incompetent by a court.
Claiming the right to vote elsewhere.
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First-Time Voters: If you are voting for the first time in your election district, you must show identification. This can be either photo or non-photo ID.
Acceptable Forms of Photo ID:
Pennsylvania driver's license or PennDOT ID card
U.S. passport
U.S. military ID (active duty and retired military IDs may designate an expiration date that is indefinite)
Employee photo ID issued by federal, Pennsylvania, or local government
Photo ID issued by an accredited Pennsylvania public or private institution of higher learning
Photo ID issued by a Pennsylvania care facility
Acceptable Forms of Non-Photo ID (must include your name and address):
Confirmation issued by the County Voter Registration Office
Non-photo ID issued by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Non-photo ID issued by the U.S. government
Firearm permit
Current utility bill
Current bank statement
Current paycheck
Government check
If you are not a first-time voter at your polling place, you typically do not need to show ID. However, it's always a good idea to have some form of identification with you just in case there are any issues with your registration.
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Pennsylvania has closed primary elections meaning that voters can only vote for candidates within their registered party during the primaries.
That means if you are registered as an ‘INDEPENDENT,’ then you cannot vote for Republicans or Democrats in the PA primaries. Be sure to register as a Democrat! It only takes 2 minutes:
Fill out this voter registration form and select ‘Change of Party’ under option 3.You can also download a blank form to print and turn in at the elections office at the Erie County Courthouse. (NOTE: This form is 8.5×14 inches. If you print on 8.5×11 inch (letter) paper you must set your printer to “Fit to Page” or 75% of original size.)
Changes made more than 15 days before an election will take effect for that election. Changes made 15 days or less before an election will take effect for the next election. -
Mail-in ballot: Any registered voter may apply to vote by mail in the next election. You do not have to provide a reason for why you want to vote by mail ballot.
Absentee ballot: If you will be out of your municipality on Election Day or if you have a disability or illness that prevents you from going to your polling place on Election Day, you can request this ballot type, which requires you to provide a reason for why you want to vote by mail ballot.
Early Voting: You can vote early at the Erie County Elections Office, Room 112 at the Erie County Courthouse (140 W 6th St, Erie, PA 16501). Just be sure to vote BEFORE the Early Voting Deadline.
Before you apply for a mail-in or absentee, be sure to check your voter registration status to ensure you are registered to vote and your information is up to date.
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No, you must turn in your own mail-in ballot. The only exceptions are if you are a voter with a disability and have designated someone, in writing, to deliver your ballot, or if you need an emergency absentee ballot.
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The drop box for Erie County mail-in ballots is located outside of the Erie County Courthouse and is available 24/7.
You can also turn it in inside at the Voter Registration Office (Room 112) which is open Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm.
NOTE: you must turn in your own mail-in ballot.
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If an election official has you fill out a provisional ballot, please do so! A provisional ballot records your vote while the county board of elections determines whether it can be counted.
You may be issued a provisional ballot for the reasons below:
Your name was not in the poll book or supplemental poll book.
For example, you reported to the wrong precinct; or
You did not report a recent change in residence to the county election office.
You are required to show ID, but cannot show ID.
Your eligibility was challenged by an election official.
You were issued an absentee or mail-in ballot but believe you did not successfully vote that ballot, and you do not surrender your ballot and outer return envelope at the polling place to be spoiled.
You returned a completed absentee or mail‐in ballot that was rejected, or you believe will be rejected, by the county board of elections and you believe you are eligible to vote.
You believe that you are registered in a political party, but your voter record indicates otherwise (for primary elections only).
Within 7 days after the election, the county board of elections will decide whether you were eligible to vote at the election district where you voted the provisional ballot. If you were eligible, they will count your provisional ballot. You can check to see if your provisional ballot was counted here.
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If you voted by mail, you can track the status of your ballot by clicking here.
If you filled out a provisional ballot, you can track the status of your ballot by clicking here.
If you voted in-person on Election Day, you cannot track your ballot status.
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For Erie County Elections, you can see election results here.
For Pennsylvania statewide elections, you can see results here.
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If you are having issues while trying to vote, you can:
File a provisional ballot at your nearest polling place
Call the Erie County Elections Office with questions at (814) 451-6275
If you have a more immediate need, call the voting hotline at 1-877-VOTESPA (1-877-868-3772).
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If you need help voting due to a disability, you may bring a person of your choice to assist you in the voting process. There are a few restrictions on who you may bring, including that you may not choose a person who is:
A Judge of Elections
Your union representative
Your employer
The first time you have someone help you vote, the election officials at your polling place will ask you to complete and sign a form called a Declaration of Need of Assistance. After the first time, your registration record will note that you completed the form. This declaration is also available in 10 different languages, including Spanish and traditional Chinese.
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You can register and vote if you:
Are a pretrial detainee. This means that you can register and vote even if you are confined in a correctional facility awaiting trial on charges of a felony or a misdemeanor, so long as you have not been sentenced to incarceration or are not currently serving a sentence for a felony conviction.
Are currently serving a sentence for a misdemeanor conviction only. A misdemeanor — whether you are incarcerated or not — has no effect on your ability to register and vote, unless the misdemeanor was a violation of the Pennsylvania Election Code.
Have a felony conviction and were released or will be released from a correctional facility by the date of the next election. You only need to wait for release if your term of incarceration is for conviction of a felony.
Are on probation or released on parole. This includes parolees who are living in a halfway house.
Are under house arrest (home confinement). If this is you, you can vote no matter your conviction status or the status of the conditions of confinement.
You are not eligible to register and vote if you:
Are currently confined in a correctional facility for conviction of a felony and will not get released from confinement until after the next election. This is true even if you are also incarcerated for one or more misdemeanor offenses.
Were convicted of violating any provision of the Pennsylvania Election Code within the last four years.