As Deadline For Mail-In Ballot Applications Passes, Some Voters Say They've Gotten Multiple Ballots
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Tuesday, May 26, was the last day to apply to vote by mail.
If you missed the 5 p.m. deadline, you will need to cast your ballot in person next Tuesday, June 2, the state's Primary Election Day.
Some voters who applied for ballots in the mail are still receiving more than one.
"Maybe a week later, both of us got a second official ballot," says Donna Kimberling of Crafton.
Kimberling and her husband got a duplicate ballot after already voting by mail. So they called the elections department and were told it was a glitch. They shredded the second ballots.
But then: "Last week, on the 20th of May -- I looked at the ballot here -- they sent us our third official ballot complete with names, address, all the official information," Kimberling told KDKA political editor Jon Delano on Tuesday.
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Officials had no new explanation for the third ballot but insist that no one can vote twice or three times because of the special bar code unique to each voter.
"Literally, the system cannot process more than one ballot per person," says Kathy Boockvar, Pennsylvania's Secretary of State and top election official.
So what about someone voting your ballot for you?
"That's why they have you sign the affidavits," says Boockvar. "So when you sign the outer envelope, you're verifying that you in your own capacity voted this ballot, so someone would need to forge your signature."
Election officials say there's no evidence of forged ballots in Pennsylvania.
"It makes you suspicious, but I'd like to believe that it's all good," says Kimberling.
If you applied for a mail-in ballot before the deadline, when you get that ballot, mail it back right away. They must be received by county election officials by 8 p.m. next Tuesday.
Otherwise, plan to vote in person next Tuesday.