What to know about returning your mail-in ballot in Centre County for the Nov. 7 election

Halie Kines
·4 min read

With the municipal election just around the corner on Nov. 7, Centre County voters are running out of time to apply for a mail-in ballot.

The deadline to request a mail-in ballot for the 2023 municipal election is 5 p.m. Oct. 31, 2023.

In emergency situations, like an unexpected illness following the deadline to request a mail-in ballot, an Emergency Absentee Ballot can be requested on the county’s website.

As of Oct. 26, there have been 12,829 absentee/mail-in ballots requested in Centre County. Of the 12,827 ballots sent out, 5,371 have been returned, according to data provided on the county’s elections website.

Here’s what to know about voting-by-mail in Centre County.

How to return a mail-in/absentee ballot

Ballots can be returned via mail or by utilizing one of the eight ballot drop box locations around the county. No postage is required for the drop boxes.

In a change from some previous elections, the ballot drop boxes will close at 9 a.m. Monday, Nov. 6 — the day before the election — but ballots can still be hand delivered to the elections office in the Willowbank Building, 420 Holmes St., Bellefonte. Normal hours are 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday, but it will be open until 8 p.m. on Election Day.

Postage is required to return the ballot via mail and must be received by the Centre County elections office by 8 p.m. Nov. 7. Ballots can be tracked online via the Pennsylvania Department of State’s website.

For instructions on how to correctly fill out and return the ballot, visit the county’s elections website. Generally speaking, voters can only return their own ballots, not someone else’s ballot.

Where are the ballot drop boxes?

Secure ballot drop boxes are located around Centre County and have been open since mid-October. All drop boxes are monitored 24/7 by a video security surveillance system, according to the county’s website.

  • Willowbank Building, 420 Holmes St., Bellefonte

  • Centre Hall MDJ Office, 2795 Earlystown Road, Centre Hall

  • Ferguson Township Building, 3147 Research Drive, State College

  • Patton Township Building, 100 Patton Plaza, State College

  • Philipsburg MDJ Office, 118 Enterprise Drive, Philipsburg

  • Spring Township Building, 1309 Blanchard Street, Bellefonte

  • State College Borough Building, 243 South Allen St., State College

  • HUB-Robeson Center, 100 Pollock Road, University Park

What if I lost my mail-in ballot or it never arrived?

If a voter requested a mail-in ballot and did not return it, and wants to vote in person, they can either bring their ballot and the outer return envelope to their polling place to be voided. Once the ballot is surrendered, and the voter signs a declaration, they can vote in person.

If a voter doesn’t surrender their ballot and return envelope, they can vote by a provisional ballot, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State’s website. The county’s board of elections will verify that they didn’t vote by mail before counting the provisional ballot.

But if a voter already submitted their mail-in ballot, they can’t vote in person on Election Day.

Where will pre-canvassing & the vote-by-mail ballot processing take place?

The Penn Stater Conference Center and the Centre County Emergency Operations Center are the vote-by-mail processing rooms for pre-canvassing of absentee and mail-in ballots.

C-NET will have two livestream videos of the pre-canvassing rooms beginning 7 a.m. Nov. 7. One will be from the Penn Stater and another will be from the Emergency Operations Center. The livestreaming will continue until all ballots are cast. Livestream links are available at centrecountyvotes.gov/precanvassing.

How & when will Centre County process mail-in ballots?

The board of elections will begin to process/pre-canvass absentee and mail-in ballots at 7 a.m. Nov. 7, according to the county website, at the vote-by-mail centers.

Results for ballots received before 5 p.m. Nov. 6 will be updated shortly after 8 p.m. and unofficial results will be posted to the Elections Results page.

Ballot results for all ballots received by 8 p.m. Nov. 7 will begin to be counted at about 9:30 p.m. and will continue to be counted until all of the ballots are scanned, the website states.

Results from polling locations will begin to be updated around 8:45 p.m., the website states, until completed. It is estimated to be completed by midnight.

For more information on voting in Centre County, visit centrecountyvotes.gov.