The Mail in Ballot Moment We All Have Been Waiting For
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania had a problem with its voting machine as the antiquated system and the equipment used for eligible citizens to cast their votes during local, statewide and national elections were becoming obsolete. Two years later, and weeks away from the upcoming June 2 primary election, Pennsylvania citizens have two options, either wait in a long line to cast a paper ballot or apply for your mail-in ballot. In the midst of Covid-19 pandemic, the controversial wait in line vs. mail in ballot seems like a no-brainer. For the last two years, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf had been pushing the counties to switch to paper voting systems to prevent hacking as Pennsylvania’s ExpressVoteXL did not have the capacity to use a paper ballot as the machine had only ever used computer software to count the voter’s selection of government officials, politicians, and judges.
Mail-in-ballots, much like the absentee ballot will avoid the long lines- and now—the need for social distancing is also circumvented. Applications for eligible citizens must, however, be sought here by clicking on the link below. Any qualified voter can now apply and simply request without giving a reason, which is distinguished from the absentee ballot. First, you must be registered to vote, and you can check your registration status on www.votespa.com
Ballot Request Application – PA Voter Services
www.pavoterservices.pa.gov ›
There are deadlines that must be met for the primary election that has now been postponed until June 2, 2020. May 18, 2020, is the last day to register to vote before the primary election. The last day to register by mail in ballot before the upcoming Presidential primary election is May 26, 2020 by 5 p.m. Voters must have a valid PA drivers’ license or non-drivers’ photo id from PennDot. The mail in ballot comes in time for the pandemic, and the question of trust seems to be a little bit less on the minds of those who would otherwise be skeptical. A call to the Governor’s Office of Pennsylvania suggests that Hope springs eternal. “We are feeling very positive about the mail in ballot” said one of the clerks answering the office line and yes now with the pandemic, it will serve a way of getting the citizens of the Commonwealth to vote without unnecessary exposure. Governor of Pennsylvania, Tom Wolf has been in office since January 2015. Governor Wolf is a member of the democratic party who was re-elected in 2018 and now serving a second term. Governor Wolf had begun taking early steps to shut down the state county by county as early as March 11, 2020. While there has been some criticism, Pennsylvania or any of its major cities including Philadelphia and Pittsburgh have not suffered the catastrophic level of infection, unlike New Jersey and New York. The Reopening phase of Pennsylvania began on May 8, 2020, but the mail in ballot experience may be more welcomed than originally anticipated by the citizens of the Commonwealth. Interestingly, however, the mail-in-ballot despite the coronavirus has not been favored by the President of the United States, Donald Trump who has been heard in the news and in his press conferences, speaking out against the mail-in-ballot as it is believed that mail-in ballots make it easier for fraud to occur. From some states, the mail-in ballot has been a part of the landscape already, and Pennsylvania will not be the first state to join the ranks. For more information on voting within the Commonwealth, please contact pa.gov. The Villari Firm, PLLC, legal advocates for the injured, fully endorses the mail in ballot since the invisible enemy, COVID 19 is among us. “It is plainly the lesser of two evils for right now.” Heidi Villari said.
