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The line of people waiting to apply for a mail-in or absentee ballot by the 5 p.m. deadline began at the County Office Building and snaked down Forbes Avenue and into a parking garage on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Many of those waiting were students, like Eli Fox, right, 19, who's studying at Carnegie Mellon University. Voter enthusiasm is high on campus, he said,
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Pa. officials urge voters to hand deliver mail-in ballots

Steve Mellon/Post-Gazette

Pa. officials urge voters to hand deliver mail-in ballots

One week from the presidential election, more than half of the 3 million voters in Pennsylvania who applied for a mail-in ballot have returned them, state officials said Tuesday.

But that leaves about 1.1 million whose ballots still haven’t been received by county elections offices, and to those Pennsylvanians — and to those who applied before Tuesday’s deadline -— Gov. Tom Wolf has a message: “Don’t wait.”

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“Hand-deliver your vote ballot at a secure drop box or at the county board of elections,” Mr. Wolf said at a news conference Tuesday, noting that physically “[walking your ballot] to the place where you can turn it in” can avoid any uncertainty about whether the ballot will count.

People drop off their ballots at the County Office Building Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020, on Forbes Avenue, Downtown Pittsburgh.
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For those who have already applied for a mail-in ballot, they’re still able to hand-deliver them — filled out and completed — until 8 p.m. on Election Day in-person to their county elections office. In Allegheny County, ballots can be dropped off every day in the main lobby of 542 Forbes Ave. in downtown Pittsburgh from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through next Monday, and 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day next Tuesday — or upstairs in the elections office on the sixth floor from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, next Monday and next Tuesday.

Counties are permitted to tally ballots they receive by mail in the three days following the Nov. 3 election, as long as they were postmarked by 8 p.m. on Election Day.

But with the possibility of the U.S. Supreme Court taking up the case of the three-day extension in the coming days, state officials are urging voters that the best way they can ensure their ballots are counted is to return them in person, and to do it now.

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"Just drop it off. We all know there’s mail delays. There’s no question. So avoid it,” Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar said. “I don’t want any voter thinking about what a court is or isn't going to do.”

With Republicans seeking an expedited decision in the Supreme Court that recently split 4-4 on the matter and kept the deadline in place, Mr. Wolf said he believes the state will “know by Thursday or Friday as to where that stands.”

“I think all that uncertainty is all the more reason to walk it in [and] get it in on time,” Mr. Wolf said.

Julian Routh: jrouth@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1952, Twitter @julianrouth.

First Published: October 27, 2020, 4:45 p.m.

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The line of people waiting to apply for a mail-in or absentee ballot by the 5 p.m. deadline began at the County Office Building and snaked down Forbes Avenue and into a parking garage on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Many of those waiting were students, like Eli Fox, right, 19, who's studying at Carnegie Mellon University. Voter enthusiasm is high on campus, he said, "in fact, some students change their Zoom names to 'Vote. It's an important election.'" "I want to make sure to do my part."  (Steve Mellon/Post-Gazette)
The line of people waiting to apply for mail-in or absentee ballots by the 5 p.m. deadline began at the County Office Building snaked down Forbes Avenue on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. People near the entrance said the had been waiting for 90 minutes.  (Steve Mellon/Post-Gazette)
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf speaking to the press in Lancaster County last month.  (Commonwealth Media Services)
Steve Mellon/Post-Gazette
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