Important rules when handling absentee ballots in PA.

[JPZenger]

In Pennsylvania, an absentee ballot must be mailed in by the voter directly or hand-delivered by the voter to the county voting office, unless they sign a "certified person" form saying they needed that volunteer to help.

In another words, if a volunteer collects absentee ballots from voters in a nursing home and tries to hand deliver them to the voting office, the ballots would be rejected --- unless the "certified person" form is filled out for each one of them. The simplest way to handle it is to put the ballot into the mail as soon as it is filled out and signed.

For non-military, an absentee ballot must be requested before the end of the business day on Tues Oct 28 and must be received by the appropriate county voting office by the end of the business day on Friday October 31. To be careful, it should be sent as soon as possible.

The request for the absentee ballot must be signed by the voter. You should use the State's form, which is on the website linked below. (It is also possible to write a letter but it must be signed and include all of the same information on the form).

Here's the official state website for absentee ballot info, with a link to the certified person/agent form:

http://www.dos.state.pa.us/voting/cwp/view.asp?a=1193&q=442991

If an emergency situation (such as hospitalization) makes it impossible for a person to vote at the polling place and get an absentee ballot in time, there is another process, described in the link.

[JPZenger]

1. Be aware of claims of voter fraud involving absentee ballots

On a radio show on 1210 Am in Phila. today, the host was going on and on about those commie liberal groups trying to steal the election with voter fraud. He specifically mentioned a claim that "some women" went into a Philadelphia prison in 2004 and had prison inmates fill out absentee ballots. (In PA, a person who is "incarcerated" on election day is not allowed to vote, but a person may vote if they have a criminal conviction but are no longer serving a sentence.) These attacks are part of a coordinated national campaign to try to claim that Democratic wins will not be legitimate.

As a result, we should be extra careful when handling absentee ballots.

[JPZenger]

2. Absentee Ballots Must be RECEIVED by Friday, not postmarked

I just confirmed with my local voting office that completed absentee ballots must be RECEIVED by next Friday, and not just postmarked by Friday.