Pennsylvania
How to request, fill out and return your Pa. mail ballot
What questions do you have about the 2024 elections? What major issues do you want candidates to address? Let us know.
This year, Election Day is Nov. 5. All registered voters in the commonwealth can either vote by mail ballot or in person. Voting by mail has been an option for all Pa. voters since 2020.
If you choose to vote by mail, here is everything you need to know — from deadlines to how to fill out your ballot and more.
When is the deadline to request a mail ballot?
You need to request your ballot by 5 p.m. Oct. 29.
Another important deadline: You must register to vote by Oct. 21. You can check your voter registration status online.
If you miss the deadline to request a mail ballot and cannot vote in person on Election Day because of an emergency, you can request an emergency absentee ballot.
How do I request a mail ballot?
You can request a mail ballot online. You can also download the application — available in English, Spanish and Traditional Chinese — and either mail it or submit it in person to your local county election office.
You’ll need your PennDOT ID number or Pennsylvania driver’s license number, or the last four digits of your Social Security Number to apply. Here’s more information about the identification you’ll need.
Another option: You can go to your county election office and request, fill out and submit your mail ballot all at once. In the Greater Philadelphia area, mail ballots are currently available in Montgomery and Philadelphia counties. They are not yet available in Bucks, Chester and Delaware counties.
Voters with disabilities also have the option of applying for an accessible remote ballot — after first applying for a mail ballot — that can be filled out electronically. This is an option for you to vote privately and securely if you use screen readers or other assistive devices.
The Department of State recommends submitting the request for an accessible remote ballot within 24 hours of submitting your mail ballot request.
How do I fill out my mail ballot?
Begin by reading instructions on the mail ballot. Mark your choices on the ballot using blue or black ink. Be sure to complete the front and back of each page.
Then, place your mail ballot in the yellow envelope marked “Official Election Ballot” that you received with your mail ballot. There should be no stray marks on the envelope. If you do not seal your ballot in that official election ballot envelope, it won’t be counted.
You then must seal the yellow envelope in the pre-addressed outer return envelope, which was also provided with your mail ballot. On the outer return envelope is a voter’s declaration form. You must sign and date the voter’s declaration. If you do not sign and date the voter’s declaration, your vote will not be counted.
If you’re mailing it to your election office, check and see whether your county requires paid postage — and if so, how much postage you need.
Full directions can be found online.
How do I return it?
You can mail your ballot to your county election office. You can also drop it off in person at your county election office or county election satellite office.
Many counties also have designated monitored and secure drop boxes. You can also return your mail ballot there.
For the Greater Philadelphia area:
- Bucks County drop box locations can be found here.
- Chester County drop box locations can be found here.
- Delaware County drop box locations can be found here.
- Montgomery County drop box locations can be found here.
- Philadelphia County drop box locations can be found here.
Pennsylvania law requires that you drop off your own ballot. The only exception is if you have a disability and fill out a designated agent form, which allows another individual to drop off your mail ballot for you.
You can track the status of your mail ballot online after you’ve mailed or submitted it.
When is the deadline to return my mail ballot?
If you’re returning your ballot by mail, it must be received by 8 p.m. on Nov. 5. A postmark by or even before Nov. 5 does not matter if the ballot has not been received by 8 p.m. on Nov. 5.
If you don’t think you have enough time to mail it before Election Day, you have a couple of options:
- You can drop off your mail ballot at one of your county’s secure drop boxes, or drop off your mail ballot at your local county election office before 8 p.m. on Election Day.
- On Election Day, you can bring your blank mail ballot to the polls and surrender it and the outer return envelope and vote in person. If you did not vote by mail but do not still have your mail ballot or the envelope to surrender at your polling place, you can vote by provisional ballot.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Girl Scout, 6, breaks record selling 87,000 boxes of cookies: ‘Unstoppable’
A dedicated Girl Scout in Pennsylvania has smashed the record for most cookies sold in a single season and isn’t letting anything stop her from earning the top prize.
Little 6-year-old Pim Neill sold nearly 87,000 boxes of the seasonal treat as of Saturday morning for her fundraiser, which started with the modest goal of selling enough cookies to earn a spot at scout camp.
“Pim is literally unstoppable,” Pim’s father, Luke Anorak-Neill, told People.
The young Pittsburgh scout had her eyes set on selling the most boxes within her group of 11 kindergartners. She then aimed to sell 5,000 boxes before setting her sights on breaking the state record then quickly aimed for selling over 10,000 boxes.
Her new goal is set for 100,000 boxes.
“Pim’s goal is 100,026 boxes so she can go to Girl Scout Camp this summer, go on adventures with her troop and bring some amazing service projects to her community,” Anorak-Neill wrote on Facebook on Friday night.
“Pim is hoping to sell ‘more cookies than anyone’ and we are tackling her goal a few (thousand) at a time. Pim has shattered several national records and is looking to crumble the world record for most boxes sold.”
Pim, currently a Daisy scout – the youngest of all scouts — began selling cookies on Tuesday, January 6, and by that Friday, she had sold 800 boxes, according to CBS News Pittsburgh.
The Girl Scouts’ cookie season often runs from January to April, the organization said.
The family has utilized Facebook and TikTok accounts to market the little girl’s ventures, updating followers on the daily count of cookies sold.
Anorak-Neill has shared the young girl’s adventures on social media, where he routinely tracks the number of cookies that Pim sold.
Anorak-Neill helped Pim by advertising on multiple Facebook groups and telling family members his daughter wanted cookie sales instead of Christmas gifts.
They have also gone the traditional route, going door-to-door offering the goodies.
“Pim has been out knocking on doors everyday after school and on the weekends so long as the weather allows. She calls people, hands out flyers, and asks everyone at church and community activities. We are excited to get preorders so she can deliver cookies and continue bringing joy! Place your order online today!” Anorak-Neill wrote.
The family has shared the online tracker for Pim’s cookie sales.
Pim faced delays joining a troop because of her late birthday and was then mocked because of her disabilities when she tried to join a group, a journey Anorak-Neill described as “brutal.”
“At one cookie booth, when we asked the adult ladies running the booth, before we knew anything about Girl Scouts, the one lady literally screamed at us (in front of all the girls) that my child’s disabilities would hold a troop back and that she didn’t want Pim in her troop,” Anorak-Neill told the outlet. “She told us to go find a playgroup for disabled kids.”
Pim had dreamed of joining the scouts since she was 3 years old, when she saw a group selling cookies.
When she eventually joined, Pim’s family feared she wouldn’t acclimate to the fast-paced lifestyle, but the fearless kinergartner proved everyone wrong.
“Pim’s first few meetings were very hard. Her disabilities were things we had to overcome, but everyone was supportive,” Anorak-Neill says. “I did all the background stuff and signed up as a troop leader so I would be able to go anywhere Pim goes to support her.”
Pim was dedicated to selling the most cookies after learning that the top prize was a trip to Niagara Falls, a place where Anorak-Neill was brought to by his partner, Don Neill, before moving from Idaho to Pennsylvania.
Neill collapsed last year and was hospitalized, jeopardizing the family trip to the natural landmark.
“Pim knows Niagara Falls is important. She wants to see it in person,” Anorak-Neill said.
The lifetime cookies record is currently held by motivational speaker Katie Francis, who sold 180,000 boxes between 2011 and 2020.
Francis also held the record for most sales in a single season until Lilly Bumpus sold over 32,000 in 2021, a record quickly demolished by Pim’s business.
“We aren’t sure what happened, so we can only try to sell more boxes,” Anorak-Neill said about his daughter’s incredible performance. “Friday morning, we watched the cookie counter. People were excited to help a 6-year-old crush a record that was literally set the season after she was born.”
Pennsylvania
Video in land dispute case shows Pa. trooper interact with Gov. Shapiro’s neighbor
A newly released video obtained by NBC10 shows an interaction between troopers with Pennsylvania State Police and Gov. Josh Shapiro’s neighbors amid a dispute over land in Montgomery County.
The video was taken in mid-October, 2025, and shows a trooper tell Shapiro’s neighbors that he is recording their interaction.
A recent lawsuit brought by Shapiro’s neighbors, Jeremy and Simone Mock, states that Shapiro initially sought to purchase or lease a part of the property owned by his neighbors that ran adjacent to his Abington property in order to build a security fence. But after negotiations between Shapiro and the Mocks fell through, the governor claimed ownership of the property he had sought to purchase.
The Mocks claim that Shapiro then began treating their property as his own by planting trees and having State Troopers patrol there.
The Mocks are claiming that Shapiro violated their constitutional rights and are seeking access to their property as well as other damages, according to the lawsuit.
However, Shapiro countersued the Mocks on Monday, Feb. 9 and said the Mocks never had ownership of the land in dispute and that Shapiro owns the land because he has maintained it for two decades.
October’s video raises questions for Republican Sen. Jarrett Coleman who is the chair of the Senate Intergovernmental Relations Committee.
In December, his committee voted along party lines to subpoena records from the State Police regarding taxpayer-funded security improvements at the governor’s Abington home.
Sen. Coleman said that the body camera footage from October was not supplied through those subpoenas and now he wants to know why.
NBC10 asked State Police about the existence of the body worn camera footage and if it will be supplied to the Senate committee but they did not respond to the specific questions we asked.
“This dispute over a small piece of the Shapiro’s backyard has been turned into a shameless political stunt by the neighbors and members of the Republican State Senate who are now attacking the Pennsylvania State Police and threatening, harassing and exploiting the Shapiro’s legitimate security issues,” the governor’s office wrote in a statement to NBC10 on Friday.
Pennsylvania
Suspect wanted in deadly Fayette County shooting taken into custody in Maryland
The suspect wanted in a deadly shooting in Uniontown last week has been taken into custody, according to the Fayette County District Attorney.
A 20-year-old, identified as Lemaur Thompson Jr., was shot on Dunlap Street last Thursday in Uniontown. He was taken to the hospital, where he later died.
At the time of the shooting, Fayette County District Attorney Mike Aubele said that 18-year-old Braedon Dickinson was named a person of interest, saying the shooting was not random, but “an intentional, deliberate act.”
“This is a full extradition warrant, so we’re looking nationwide for him,” Aubele said at the time.
A few days later, a $2,000 reward was being offered for information that would lead to Dickinson’s arrest.
Dickinson was previously charged in connection with the deadly shooting of Jason Raiford in New Kensington in July 2022. He was 14 years old at the time. His case was de-certified from adult court to juvenile court.
On Friday morning, Dickson was taken into custody in Baltimore.
“We appreciate the efforts of the multiple agencies that have worked tirelessly to locate this defendant, including the Pennsylvania State Police, Maryland State Police, U.S. Marshals, and the FBI,” the DA said in a statement.
Dickinson will now be transported back to Pennsylvania, where he will be facing homicide charges.
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