Mail ballot return envelope stuck? Here’s what to do.

• Jordan Wilkie/WITF
  BioRecent Stories

  

  As the democracy reporter for WITF, I will cover any kind of story that has to do with how we govern ourselves. That will include doing a lot of election coverage about how to access the ballot, how public officials administer elections, the technology used to run and secure elections, and the laws that govern it all.
  
  My work will also include accountability coverage for elected officials that use their positions to then undermine democratic institutions, like the legislators that voted against the certification of the presidential election results on January 6, 2021. If that weren’t enough, I foresee covering some local government decisions, fights over public records and transparency, and some candidate coverage in 2024. Many stories can have a “democracy frame” meant to help us all understand how our governments work and how we can shape them.
  
  I’m most looking forward to the community reporting about which WITF is passionate. I’ll be talking to a lot of folks about what they want out of their governments, local to national, and how they want to make their visions reality. I’m excited to meet you and talk, with or without a microphone on hand.
  
  I also like to turn my work phone off. When I do that, I’m looking for rocks to climb, trails to run on (slower and slower, somehow), and new places to visit. I’ve lived in the (extended) South for most of my life, so y’all will hear me say things funny and sometimes my hearing is funny, too, so we’ll figure out this radio thing together.

 Cumberland County

New color coding and highlighted sections may help voters avoid mistakes when returning mail-in ballots.

Counties are starting to send out by-mail ballots and some voters are discovering a sticky situation.

Humidity is causing some return envelopes to come pre-sealed. 

If a voter’s mail-in ballot’s return envelope is already sealed, election directors like Dauphin County’s Chris Spackman suggest opening the envelope carefully then closing it with tape. If the envelope or the ballot are too damaged, the Department of State advises voters to contact their local elections office. 

The instructions that come with the mail-in materials also explain what to do. 

Given these kinds of small hurdles that can happen with mail-in voting, elections directors encourage voters to request and return their ballots sooner rather than later. 

On Friday, Dauphin County sent out its first 26,000 mail-in ballots, with more being sent out on a rolling basis as they are requested. Other counties, like Berks and Cumberland, plan to send out their ballots this week. 

The deadline to request a mail ballot is Oct. 29. Mail-in ballots must be returned to county elections offices by 8 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 5.

This story is part of an explanatory series focused on Pennsylvania elections produced collaboratively by WITF, led by democracy reporter Jordan Wilkie, and The Associated Press.

The Associated Press and WITF’s democracy reporter Jordan Wilkie are partnering to tell stories about how Pennsylvania elections work, and to debunk misinformation surrounding elections. 

Read the stories here