Pennsylvania absentee voting underway in some counties

Pennsylvania’s 19 Electoral College votes are up for grabs in the 2024 presidential election with absentee voting in the Keystone State underway for some voters there.

Pennsylvania is one of the most competitive states this cycle

Pennsylvania was one of three Rust Belt states that flipped from the Democrats to former President Trump and Republicans in 2016, then back to President Biden four years later. In each case, the margin was thin with less than 100,000 votes separating the main candidates.

The state has also been critical to each president’s pathway to victory. It has the largest population and the most Electoral College votes of the seven most competitive states in the Fox News Power Rankings.

A recent Fox News survey has the race tied, with Democrat nominee Vice President Harris and Trump each receiving support from 49% of likely voters.

The bulk of the Democrat vote comes from the “bookends” of the state, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, where Harris will likely perform well among Black and suburban voters.

Trump makes up for that with White rural and non-college-educated voters who live in the middle of the state. The former president has brought these voters out to the ballot box twice, and a Pennsylvania-heavy rally schedule shows he is looking to do that again.

Pennsylvania is ranked “Toss-Up” in the Fox News Power Rankings.

The Keystone State also has a U.S. Senate race on the ballot. Democrat Sen. Bob Casey has won three elections before, but securing a fourth will be more difficult with White working-class voters drifting away from his party. Republicans are hoping businessman Dave McCormick will connect with them. That race is ranked “Leans Dem.”

Key House races in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania is also home to a handful of competitive U.S. House races led by:

• 7th District: Democrat Rep. Susan Wild has represented this eastern Pennsylvania district since the 2018 midterms, a wave year for House Democrats. It’s been a very close race since then, with Wild winning by 3.8 points in 2020 and two points in the most recent midterms. This time, she faces Republican state Rep. Ryan Mackenzie. This race is a “Toss-Up” in the Fox News Power Rankings.
• 8th District: In the northeast, longtime Democrat Rep. Matt Cartwright has served this district for more than a decade. His margins have also shrunk over a decade of elections and through redistricting, down to 2.4 points in the last cycle. Cartwright’s opponent is local businessman and Republican Rob Bresnahan. The district includes Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. This race is also a Power Rankings “Toss Up.”
• 10th District: Moving south to the 10th district, rural voters in Cumberland and York counties give Republican Rep. Scott Perry the edge. He has represented the region since 2013. Perry won by 7.6 points in the midterms, but Democrats hope that Perry’s deep ties to the MAGA movement will make their candidate, former local news anchor Janelle Stelson, competitive. This race is ranked “Leans GOP.”
• 17th District: Freshman Rep. Chris Deluzio kept this western Pennsylvania seat in Democrat hands by 6.8 points in 2023, but the combination of red-leaning Beaver County and parts of Allegheny County, home to Pittsburgh, make this another hard-fought battleground district. Deluzio faces Republican State Rep. Rob Mercuri in November; the district is ranked “Leans Dem.”

How to vote in Pennsylvania

This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for Pennsylvania.

A voter fills out a mail-in ballot at the Board of Elections office in the Allegheny County Office Building on Nov. 3, 2022, in Pittsburgh. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)

Voting by mail/early in-person voting

Pennsylvania has what it describes as “On-Demand Mail Ballot Voting,” which allows registered voters to apply for mail ballots while at their county election office or other designated locations and then complete and submit the ballots while there.

A sign highlights efforts to sign up voters at the Bayfront Convention Center on Sept. 29 in Erie, Pa. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)

Mail ballots can be submitted in-person until 8 p.m. on Election Day, while the deadline to apply for one is 5 p.m. ET on Oct. 29.

Pennsylvania certified its official candidate list on Sept. 16, and counties are still “finalizing their ballots, proofreading them, and ordering printed ballots,” the state said. Mail ballots are currently available in 15 of the state’s 67 counties.

Counties were required to begin sending absentee ballots to military and overseas voters by Sept. 21.

Vice President Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, telephone prospective voters from a campaign field office in Rochester, Pa., on Aug. 18, 2024. (Kevin Lamarque/AFP via Getty Images)

Voter registration

Pennsylvania residents can register to vote online or by mail through Oct. 21.