Voter Identification
FAQ - GENERAL INFORMATION ON VOTING IN PERSON:
Please note that the "first-time voter" requirements that were in place prior to September 17, 2012 will apply in the November 3, 2015 Municipal Election. Therefore, those voters who are required under the Help America Vote Act and/or the Pennsylvania Election Code to provide identification will be required to provide identification and, if unable to do so, must vote a provisional ballot and then come to the election office within six days after the election with a copy of the required ID for the provisional ballot to count.
APPROVED FORMS OF PHOTO IDENTIFICATION FOR "FIRST TIME VOTERS" INCLUDE:
- Pennsylvania driver's license or PennDOT ID card
- ID issued by any Commonwealth agency
- ID issued by the U.S. Government
- U.S. passport
- U.S. Armed Forces ID
- Student ID
- Emploeyee ID
If a voter does not have a photo ID, the voter can use a non-photo identification that includes the voter's name and address.
APPROVED FORMS OF NON-PHOTO IDENTIFICATION INCLUDE:
- Confirmation issued by the County Voter Registration Office
- Non-photo ID issued by the Commonwealth
- Non-photo ID issued by the U.S. Government
- Firearm permit
- Current utility bill
- Current bank statement
- Current paycheck
- Government check
FAQ - GENERAL INFORMATION ON VOTING BY ABSENTEE BALLOT:
What are the changes to the absentee voting law and when do they go into effect?
Starting with the November 2012 General Election, Pennsylvania law now requires voters to provide proof of identification with an Application for Absentee Ballot.
Is anyone exempt?
A qualified absentee voter is not required to provide proof of identification if the voter is entitled to vote by absentee ballot under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) or by alternative ballot under the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act.
What is proof of identification for a qualified absentee voter?
For a voter who has a current and valid Pennsylvania driver's license or PennDOT photo ID card, the voter must provide the driver's license number or photo ID number on the Application for Absentee Ballot.
For a voter who does not have a Pennsylvania driver's license or PennDOT photo ID card, the voter must provide the last four digits of his or her Social Security Number on the Application for Absentee Ballot.
For a voter who has a RELIGIOUS OBJECTION to being photographed, the voter must provide the Pennsylvania valid without-photo driver's license number or PennDOT valid without-photo identification number on the Application for Absentee Ballor, OR the voter must provide a copy of these documents with the Application for Absentee Ballot.
What if a voter does not have a Pennsylvania driver's license or Social Security Number?
A voter without either must provide with his or her Application for Absentee Ballot a copy of an ID that shows a NAME, a PHOTO, and an EXPIRATION DATE that is CURRENT, unless noted otherwise such as:
Photo IDs issued by the U.S. Government or the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania including:
- U.S. Passport
- U.S. Military ID (active duty and retired military ID may designate an expiration date that is indefinite). Military dependents' ID must contain a current expiration date
- The individual appears to vote and claims to be properly registered and eligible to vote in this election district, but the individual's name does not appear on the general register and elections officials cannot determine his registration.
- Regardless of whether the individual's name appears on the general register, the individual does not have an approved form of identification.
- An election official asserts that the individual is not eligible to vote. In a Primary Election, this includes voters who claim to be registered for a particular political party, but the general register indicates they are registered as a member of another political party.
- The voter is voting as a result of a Federal or State court order
- A voter is voting as a result of an order extending the time established for closing the polls by State law that is in effect ten (10) days before an election.
- An individual believes a State or local elections official or employee has violated the provisions of Title III that require a voter to provide an approved form of identification the first time he appears to vote
- An individual is denied the opportunity to cast a provisional ballot
- An individual believes a State or local elections official or employee has violated provisional ballot procedure
- An individual believes information that is required by law to be posted in the polling place is incorrect, inaccessible or missing
- An individual believes that the mail-in voter registration application form is incomplete or missing required information