Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has extended the deadline for county election offices in Philadelphia to receive absentee or mail-in ballots by mail to 5 p.m. on June 9. However, the ballot must be postmarked no later than today, Tuesday, June 2. The deadline to hand deliver absentee or mail-in ballots remains 8 p.m. June 2, 2020.
“This is an unprecedented time for Pennsylvania and our nation as we face a major public health crisis and civil unrest during an election,” said Wolf. “Voting is the cornerstone of our democracy and I want to ensure that voters can cast their ballot and that it is received in time.”
The governor also extended the deadline for county election offices in Allegheny, Dauphin, Delaware, Erie and Montgomery Counties.
Ballots may also be dropped off at an official drop off location anywhere in the city by 8 p.m. tonight (this deadline has not been extended). The only drop off location in the River Wards region is the Philadelphia City Commissioner’s Office at 520 N. Columbus Blvd. However, there are nearby locations at Councilmember Bobby Henon’s office in Tacony (6730 Torresdale Avenue) and the Harrowgate PAL Center (851 E Tioga Street). The full list for the city can be found here.
The governor cited the COVID-19 pandemic and civil disturbances as reasons for extending the deadline.
“While the vast majority of counties have been able to process their applications and mail their ballots, the volume of applications in the six counties caused by the COVID-19 crisis combined with the recent civil disturbance make it necessary to extend the deadline for the counties to receive completed civilian absentee and mail-in ballots,” reads a press release for the extension. “Curfews, travel restrictions and other unforeseen circumstances have made returning ballots more difficult in these counties. The extension will help to ensure that voters in those counties are not disenfranchised through no fault of their own.”
Nearly 1.8 million Pennsylvania voters have applied for a mail ballot since the onset of COVID-19.
