Noting that about 100,000 mail ballots requested by Allegheny County voters have yet to be returned, Allegheny County Controller Chelsa Wagner and Allegheny County Councilwoman Bethany Hallam reminded these voters that ballots can be returned in person to the County Office Building lobby through Election Day, and that mail ballot packages must be submitted in full to vote a regular ballot at the voter’s assigned polling place.
The full mail-in ballot package consists of:
• The ballot
• The secrecy envelope
• The declaration envelope
“If you show up on Election Day and your voter record indicates you have applied for a mail-in ballot but you do not have the entire ballot package with you, you will have to vote by a Provisional Ballot, which cannot be counted before further investigation by the Elections Division. While Provisional Ballots are a useful tool under exceptional circumstances, no voter should rely on them this Election Day while other options remain,” Wagner and Hallam said.
“The most important thing for voters to do at this point to ensure their vote counts is to ‘Bring It!’”
Voters can still submit their own completed mail-in ballots at the drop box in the County Office Building lobby, 542 Forbes Ave., Downtown, during extended hours—8 a.m. to 8 p.m. November 2; and 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day.
Voters who have lost or discarded their mail-in ballot, or did not receive it, can vote in person at the County Elections Division, 6th Floor, County Office Building, during regular office hours—8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. November 2 and Election Day.
To vote in person at their regular polling location on Election Day, voters must bring their full mail-in ballot package to have it cancelled. However, given what is expected to be a busy Election Day amid COVID-19 protocols, Wagner and Hallam urged voters to drop off their ballot if possible.
“Hundreds of thousands of County voters have already utilized the safe, secure ballot drop off locations provided by the Elections Division, and these votes will start being counted as soon as polls open on Election Day. We hope all voters who can will do their part to help our polling place workers run a smooth, safe election by utilizing the County Office Building drop box if possible,” Wagner and Hallam said.
“Special thanks as well to our Pittsburgh City Council members, who have opened their parking locations on Fourth Ave. alongside the City-County Building to voters utilizing the drop box or Elections Division office.”
