Nothing has changed

Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt says Pennsylvania's mail ballot laws are exactly what they were, despite the federal fight playing out over the method.

“nothing has changed about Pennsylvania's mail ballot voting laws”

Counties run the election

All 67 Pennsylvania counties prepare, proof, print and mail their own ballots. Ballots for overseas and military voters have already gone out.

Two million vote by mail

Nearly 2 million Pennsylvanians used mail ballots in 2024, against 5 million who voted in person. It is a mainstream choice, not a fringe one.

Trump targets the method he uses

Trump, who votes by mail himself, directed the U.S. Postal Service to restrict mail-in voting ahead of the midterms.

Who actually sets the rules

Critics say the order reaches past the president's authority, taking power that belongs to the Constitution, Congress and the states.

Paused, but not dead

A federal judge froze the order while litigation runs, leaving room for the Supreme Court to weigh in.

USPS builds it anyway

A whistleblower said last week that the Postal Service is already developing the tools to comply with the order, blocked or not.

Barcodes add nothing

Schmidt calls the proposed requirements, including unique barcodes on ballot envelopes, new and onerous with no gain for election integrity.

“add nothing to election integrity”

The noncitizen claim collapsed

Schmidt rebutted a Homeland Security claim of 14,000 noncitizens on the rolls, saying the agency never showed its methodology.

Two cases, millions of ballots

Two noncitizens were charged over Pennsylvania's 2024 election. Votebeat reports such cases usually trace to software glitches or agency paperwork errors.

No officers at the polls

Officials have floated troops or ICE at polling places. State code keeps officers 100 feet away unless they are voting, serving a warrant or stopping interference.

“my office expects everyone working in, voting in or observing polling places to follow the law”

A Republican Trump attacked

Schmidt, a Republican and former Philadelphia city commissioner, was attacked online by Trump after 2020 and later testified to Congress about the campaign's false fraud claims.

Your two deadlines

Request a mail ballot at your county office by Oct. 27 and return it by 8 p.m. on Election Day. The state will post weekly updates and a ballot dashboard.