Election Guide

For more information on local elections, please visit county's site.

• Official results
• Voting places and sample ballots
• Election Board meetings
• Polls are open on election day from 7 A.M. - 8 P.M.
• Find your local polling place.
• Find out your registration status
  • To be eligible to register to vote in Pennsylvania, applicants must be:
    • a U.S. citizen for at least 30 days,
    • a resident of Pennsylvania for at least 30 days, and
    • at least 18 years old on or before the date of the next election.
• Request a mail-in or absentee ballot:
  • In Pennsylvania, you have two vote-by-mail options.
    • Mail-in ballot: Any registered voter can apply for a mail-in ballot.
    • Absentee ballot: Registered voters who can’t make it to their polling place on Election Day because of illness, disability, work, or travel can apply for an absentee ballot.
• Become a poll worker
• Sign up for voting updates

Primary Elections

Primary elections in Pennsylvania are held on the third Tuesday of May in most years. In presidential years, the primary election is held on the fourth Tuesday of April.

In a primary election, Democrats and Republican voters selects the candidates they want to represent their parties during the November general election.

Pennsylvania has a closed primary system. This means that Republican voters can vote only for Republican candidates and Democratic voters can vote only for Democratic candidates. The candidates who receive the highest number of votes go on to run in the general election.

While voting in a primary election for party nominees is limited to only voters registered as Democratic or Republican, all registered voters can vote in a primary election if the ballot includes any of the following:

• a constitutional amendment question,
• a ballot question, or
• a special election in their district.

General Elections

General elections are always held the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. In a general election, Pennsylvanians vote for federal, state, and local officials, including:

• U.S. president,
• U.S. senators and U.S. representatives to Congress,
• Pennsylvania governor and lieutenant governor,
• Pennsylvania General Assembly members (state Senators and state Representatives),
• Attorney general, auditor general, and state treasurer,
• County and local officials (in odd-numbered years), and
• Judges and magisterial district judges (in odd-numbered years).

In odd-numbered years, the November general election is also called a municipal election because there are no federal or state office races on the ballot.

Every four years, the general election is also called a presidential election because the office of U.S. president is on the ballot.