Emergency absentee ballots help voters with last-minute issues. How to get one

Voters dealing with a last-minute emergency that prevents them from voting in-person on Election Day still have another voting option: an emergency absentee ballot.

These ballots are available to voters who after this past Tuesday ― the application deadline for mail-in ballots ― learned they won’t be able to vote in-person on Election Day due to an unexpected illness, disability or absence from their municipality.

Here's what to know.

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How to apply for emergency absentee ballot?

Voters can download an emergency absentee ballot application from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania website. Ballots can be mailed to voters or picked up at their county elections office.

What’s the deadline to submit applications, ballots?

The deadline to submit your emergency absentee ballot application to your county election office is 8 p.m. on Election Day. The deadline to submit your completed ballot to your county elections office is also 8 p.m. on Election Day.

Do emergency absentee ballots require a reason?

Pennsylvania emergency absentee ballot applications do require voters to provide a reason for the ballots. Voters can check one of four boxes on the application, to include inability to apply for a mail-in ballot due to an illness, disability, or business-related absence.

A.J. Rao can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X @ETNRao.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Pa. emergency absentee ballots help voters facing last-minute issues