Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt told voters Wednesday, Sept. 9, that mail ballots, drop boxes and hand-delivered ballots will all work as usual for the Nov. 3 general election.
"At present, nothing has changed for the coming election," Schmidt said, according to WHYY.
The reassurance comes after months of legal back-and-forth over President Donald Trump's March executive order. That order would require states to give the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) lists of approved mail-ballot voters, mandate specially approved envelopes with tracking barcodes and let the USPS refuse ballots from voters not on the federal lists.
Pennsylvania joined 22 other states and the District of Columbia in suing the administration. The states argued Trump was overstepping authority the Constitution assigns to states and Congress.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani initially blocked the order. The Supreme Court lifted that block, saying the challenge was premature because federal agencies had not yet adopted final rules. After the USPS moved to finalize its rule, the states went back to court. Talwani issued a new preliminary injunction on Saturday, Sept. 5, blocking the USPS from enforcing the requirements.
As of Sept. 9, the Trump administration had again asked the Supreme Court for emergency relief. The high court had not ruled, leaving the new USPS requirements blocked.
Schmidt said Pennsylvania would challenge any renewed attempt to impose the federal requirements before Election Day.
What Bucks County voters need to know
For Bucks County's 483,678 registered voters as of May, the practical upshot: plan to vote the same way you always have.
The county operates three official ballot drop box locations: the County Administration Building at 55 E. Court St. in Doylestown, the Upper Bucks Government Services Center at 261 California Road in Quakertown, and the Lower Bucks Government Services Center at 7321 New Falls Road in Levittown. Additional drop boxes are available at county libraries. The Bucks County website had not yet posted start dates for any drop box location as of Sept. 10.
Key deadlines:
- Voter registration: Monday, Oct. 19
- Mail-ballot application: 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27
- Ballots received by county office: 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3
Schmidt also disputed a federal claim that 14,576 potential noncitizens may be registered to vote in Pennsylvania. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin sent letters to Schmidt and other secretaries of state in July making the claim. Schmidt said DHS had not provided evidence to back it up.
"To date, all we have are unsupported accusations in a letter," Schmidt said.
DHS officials have since acknowledged they did not have high confidence that all the people identified were noncitizens improperly registered, WHYY reported, citing NPR.
Counties are still recruiting some of the roughly 45,000 poll workers needed to staff more than 9,000 polling places statewide. County election offices provide training and pay.
The Supreme Court case remains pending. Voters with questions can contact the Bucks County Board of Elections or visit the Pennsylvania Department of State's website.
