TodayVoter registration comes to a close across the state
County election office experiences steady stream of residents looking to register to vote, apply for absentee ballots
|
Print
Share
Email to a friend
Add This
Feeds
Local News
Article RatingImages
Amy Morris, left, of Camp Hill watches her husband, Michael Morris, fill out his voter registration card Monday at the Cumberland County Bureau of Elections. Monday was the last day to register for November’s general election. Jason Malmont/The Sentinel
Cumberland County residents arrived in Carlisle in steady numbers Monday to ensure they have a voice — and a vote — Nov. 4.
That was the deadline for Pennsylvanians to register for the general election and help choose the nation’s next president.
“Very busy,” was Penny Brown’s first reaction at the close of business yesterday.
Brown, the county’s director of elections and voter registration, said the phones rang constantly, people were coming up to the counter at the Allen Road election office 10 at a time throughout the day, and applications poured in by mail.
The high level of interest in this election, especially with no incumbent running for the presidency, has really bolstered the registration numbers, she said.
In the last general election, about 138,000 county residents voted. As of Friday, the number of registered voters reached nearly 150,000, and the bureau of elections was projecting an additional 600 to 1,000 voters by the registration deadline.
Applications sent in by mail had to be postmarked Oct. 6.
To be eligible to vote, a person must have lived in the United States for at least one month before the election and lived in their voting district for at least 30 days. He or she must also turn 18 by Election Day.
Convicted felons who are incarcerated on Election Day are not eligible to vote, but those who have been released from prison are.
“The next thing will be to get all the people who have registered into the database and let them know where they need to vote,” Brown said, expecting that will be finished by the end of the week. “We will then concentrate on getting out absentee ballots.”
The deadline to apply for an absentee ballot is Tuesday, Oct. 28. Absentee ballots must be received by 5 p.m. Oct. 31.
Aside from president, the state’s voters will elect a state attorney general, treasurer and auditor general. They will also fill all of the state’s seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and most of the seats in the state General Assembly.
