Bucks County voters can pick up a mail-in ballot in person at seven locations starting Oct. 5, including the Board of Elections office in Doylestown.

The Board of Elections sent its first batch of mail ballots late the week of Sept. 28 and expects them to land in mailboxes within days, Patch reported. All seven on-demand voting sites opened Monday, Oct. 5.

On-demand voting lets a registered voter apply for a mail-in ballot and receive it during a single visit. Under Pennsylvania law, the ballot is still classified as a mail-in ballot.

The state does not authorize standard early voting.

Where to go

Three locations are returning from previous elections: the Board of Elections main office at 55 E Court St. in Doylestown, the Government Services Center in Quakertown and the Government Services Center in Levittown.

Four sites are new for 2026, added after the Board of Elections approved the expansion at its Sept. 9 meeting: Bucks County Community College's Upper Bucks Campus in Perkasie, its main campus Gateway Center in Newtown Township, its Lower Bucks Campus in Bristol Township and the Warminster Township Free Library.

The expansion follows a rocky 2024 election cycle. Voters waited hours at the county's three original on-demand sites, and county staff cut off lines as early as 2:40 p.m. on the application deadline. Bucks County Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey Trauger ruled the cutoffs violated state election law and ordered officials to extend the deadline by three days.

All seven on-demand sites also offer voter registration and a staffed ballot drop box. Hours vary by location. The county's on-demand page lists current schedules.

Key deadlines

• Oct. 19: Last day to register to vote. Seven additional ballot drop boxes at libraries open that day for completed ballot returns only.
• Oct. 27 at 5 p.m.: Last day to request a mail-in ballot online, by mail or in person at an on-demand site. The four temporary satellite offices stop providing voter services after that date, though their drop boxes stay open.
• Nov. 3 at 8 p.m.: All mail-in and absentee ballots must reach the Board of Elections. A postmark alone is not enough. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. for in-person voting.

After Oct. 27, emergency absentee voting will be available only at the Board of Elections office at 55 E Court St. in Doylestown, the Lower Bucks Government Services Center and the Upper Bucks Government Services Center.

Voters do not have to visit an on-demand site to get a mail-in ballot. They can request one through the Pennsylvania Voter Services website or mail a paper application to the Board of Elections at 55 E Court St., Doylestown, PA 18901.

In a Sept. 23 statewide announcement, Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt said redesigned mail-in ballot envelopes and a yearlong education campaign had cut ballot rejection rates from voter errors by nearly 60 percent. "Eligible Pennsylvanians who choose to vote by mail should have confidence that they can continue to do so safely and securely," Schmidt said in the announcement, as reported by the New Hope Free Press.

Sample ballots organized by municipality and precinct are available at BucksCounty.gov. The Board of Elections can be reached at 215-348-6154 or [email protected].