Voter Protection
Expert Trainer: Jesse Littlewood
Jesse Littlewood is the Chair and Policy Director with the Voter Protection Corps. From 2016-2022 Jesse led the counter disinformation work for the largest national non-partisan voter protection coalition. As Vice President for Campaigns at Common Cause, Jesse led a campaign that recruited 40,000 Election Protection volunteers in 2020. Jesse has decades of experience in democracy, environmental and public interest advocacy, growing grassroots online and offline support and raising millions in small dollar funding for nonpartisan causes. His leadership in the field brought him to the Harvard Kennedy School of Government as a lecturer, where he designed and taught course titled “Social Change in the Digital Age.” Jesse lives in Boston.
KEY IDEAS
Who can vote?
It’s important to know that Pennsylvania does not have same-day voter registration — most citizens over 18 in Pennsylvania can vote if they have registered to vote at least 15 days before the election.
How early voting and vote-by-mail works in Pennsylvania:
You can check your voter registration status here.
Pennsylvania does not have in-person early voting the way many other states do. Pennsylvanians can vote by mail ballot via mail or in person at their county elections office. You must apply for a mail ballot by 5 p.m. on October 29, and voters must return their ballots by 8 p.m. on Election Day.
What to know about voting in-person on Election Day:
You can find your polling place here. When voting at a polling place for the first time, you must show proof identification, either with photo I.D. (e.g. driver’s license) or other I.D. (e.g. utility bill). This requirement only applies for the first time you appear to vote in a particular election district/polling place. If your name is not in the poll book, and you are sure that you are registered and in the right place, you have the right to vote using a provisional ballot. If you are in line to vote by 8 p.m., you must be allowed to cast your vote. Every vote cast on a voting machine is recorded on a user-verifiable paper ballot.
What happens when the polls close on Election Day?
In Pennsylvania, state law prevents pre-canvassing of mail-in ballots before 7 a.m. on Election Day, at which point elections officials can open envelopes and get ballots ready for counting. That said, simultaneously these officials are responsible for managing in-person voting at more than 9,100 polling places.
County boards must deliver unofficial returns by 5 p.m. on November 12, 2024. These returns are considered unofficial for 5 days, during which time petitions for recounts or recanvasses may be filed. If no changes are needed, the results are certified.
Pennsylvania’s laws make it a top target for disinformation.
Bad actors take advantage of the ways that Pennsylvania’s election process differs from most other states to falsely allege that foul play is taking place. Remember that Election Day is not results night in Pennsylvania, as the processing of mail ballots means it will likely take longer to know the results. It’s also important to remember that the ballot curing process varies from county to county, unlike most states — inconsistencies from county to county in how ballots are cured do not necessarily indicate that any law is being violated!
If you or a voter have questions or encounter difficulties while trying to vote, call 866-OUR-VOTE.