Pennsylvania's mail ballot applications are down from 2020. Here's what that means for election night.

With two weeks to go until Election Day, nearly 1 million fewer Pennsylvania voters have applied and been approved for mail ballots than at the same point in 2020, which will likely speed up the election results in the state.

So far this year, there have been nearly 1.9 million mail ballot applications approved in Pennsylvania as of Tuesday, with nearly 58% of mail ballots going to registered Democrats, 30% to Republicans, and 12% to voters who aren’t registered with either of the major parties. While Democrats dominate mail voting, Republicans have increased their share from 2020.

More than half of the mail ballots across the state have been cast and returned. Voters can request ballots through Oct. 29 at 5 p.m. — one week before the election. Ballots can be returned to a local election office, sent back in the mail, or left in a drop box, but they must be received by 8 p.m. on Nov. 5.

Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, have actively encouraged voters to cast ballots by mail this year, attempting to reverse fearmongering from Trump that severely diminished trust in the process in 2020. But, with COVID-19 no longer considered a public health emergency, Pennsylvania is seeing dramatically fewer mail ballot requests this year.




https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/mail-ballot-requests-down-pennsylvania-20241022.html