Mail-In Voting Applications Open, Due May 9: Delaware County Officials

DELAWARE COUNTY, PA — With the May 16 primary election growing nearer, Delaware County is reminding residents who are eligible voters of voting by mail.

Voting by mail is an option for all voters in the county.

Those who wish to vote by mail must submit an application for a mail-in ballot.

Digital and hard copy vote by mail applications are available online here.

Applications must include valid ID.

The deadline to apply for a vote-by-mail ballot is May 9.

Ballots are not mailed to voters automatically, even if the person voted by mail previously.

Voters can also receive, fill-out, and submit a vote-by-mail application in person at the Voter Service Center, located on the first floor of the Government Center Building, at 201 W. Front St., in Media.

If approved, a voter will be scheduled to receive a vote-by-mail ballot for both elections to be held in 2023 — the May Primary and the November Municipal Election — weeks before Election Day.

For the upcoming May 16 Primary Election, vote-by-mail ballots are scheduled to be mailed to voters in mid-April.

Once received, voters will find that completing a vote-by-mail is easy, though voters must be sure to follow these three steps to ensure their ballot is counted:

1. Mark the ballot.
2. Place the ballot in the white secrecy envelope and seal that envelope.
3. Place the secrecy envelope in the Ballot Return Envelope, and sign, date and seal that Return Envelope.

Once completed and properly sealed, Delaware County voters have several convenient options for returning the ballot.

Vote-by-mail ballots can be returned to the Bureau of Elections through the voter’s regular mail carrier, mailed back at any USPS Post Office or blue box, delivered in-person at the Delaware County Voter Service Center in Media, or dropped off at any of the County’s more than three dozen red, white and blue drop boxes located in municipalities across the County.

County ballot drop boxes are scheduled to open on May 1 for the May 16 Primary Election.

All Delaware County drop boxes are ADA-compliant and under 24/7 video surveillance.

Voters will have until 8 p.m. on Election Night, May 16, to return their ballot to the Bureau of Elections.

Ballots must be received by the bureau by 8 p.m. on Election Night, so voters are advised to return their ballot in-person or through a county drop box instead of relying on USPS near or on Election Day.

By law, ballots that arrive after 8 p.m. cannot be counted.

A complete list of Delaware County ballot drop boxes, including street addresses and hours of operation (most will be open 24/7), is available online here.

Call the Delaware County Election Hotline at -610-891-VOTE, go online here, or stop by Voter Service Center from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.