Philadelphia Satellite Election Offices

You may use any of them

The offices are named after City Council districts, but you are not limited to your own. The City Commissioners say plainly that any Philadelphia resident eligible to register can be served at any Satellite Election Office. Go to whichever one is easiest for you to reach — near your job, near your doctor, near your daughter’s house.

What you can do there

At any of the ten district offices you can:

• ✓Register to vote, or update your registration after a move or a name change.
• ✓Apply for a mail-in or absentee ballot.
• ✓Fill out your mail ballot right there and hand it back.
• ✓Return a completed mail ballot you brought from home.
• ✓Get a replacement ballot, declaration envelope or secrecy envelope if yours was spoiled or never arrived.
• ✓Ask for an emergency absentee ballot if something happened after the application deadline.

The City Hall office, Room 140, is listed by the city for mail ballots only — including emergency absentee ballots after the application deadline.

What to bring

To apply for a mail ballot you need one of these:

• Your Pennsylvania driver’s license or PennDOT ID number, or
• The last four digits of your Social Security number.

You will sign the application and the ballot envelope, so bring your reading glasses.

Hours for the November 3 election

Every office keeps the same hours. The city set these for this election starting September 14:

Staff begin with the last visitor about 30 minutes before closing, so do not plan to arrive on the hour. These are election-season hours: between elections the offices have been closed on weekends, and the city warns hours can change as Election Day gets closer. Call the office before you set out, especially if you are traveling across the city.

Deadlines

• Monday, October 19 — the last day to register to vote, or to update your registration after a move.
• Tuesday, October 27, 5:00 p.m. — the last moment to apply for a mail ballot, including in person at a Satellite Election Office. After this, only an emergency absentee ballot is possible, for an illness, disability or trip away that came up after the deadline — ask for one at City Hall or a Satellite Election Office. It too must be back by 8:00 p.m. on Election Day.
• Tuesday, November 3, 8:00 p.m. — the last moment a completed ballot can be in the county’s hands. A postmark does not count.

Dropping off a ballot instead

If you already filled out your mail ballot at home and only want to hand it in, you do not need the office to be open. Every Satellite Election Office also has an official ballot drop box, and the city keeps its drop boxes open around the clock until 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 3. There are more boxes at libraries, rec centers and fire stations; a few are out of service for construction, so check the city’s map first.

You may only hand in your own ballot — not your husband’s or wife’s, not a neighbor’s. The one exception: if an illness or disability keeps you from returning it yourself, you can name someone to do it on the Commonwealth’s designated agent form. You both sign it, and it travels with the ballot.

Not in Philadelphia?

Satellite Election Offices are a City of Philadelphia program, but you can do the same thing at your own county election office once your county’s ballots are printed and ready. The state calls it on-demand mail ballot voting: apply, get your ballot, fill it out and hand it back in one visit, up to 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 27. When it starts, and whether your county opens any extra locations, varies from county to county — call yours and ask.