Pennsylvania voters must go to specific locations on Tuesday

Polls in Pennsylvania open at 7 a.m. on Tuesday for the 2026 midterm elections, but voters must go to a specific location to cast their ballots. The state does not allow residents to vote at any site within their county. Each registered voter has one assigned polling place on file with the Pennsylvania Department of State.

Voters can find their designated address using the online tool at PAVoterServices.PA.gov. The search results list the name and address of the voting location, along with the specific ward and division. Voters must report to the poll workers handling their exact ward and division upon arrival. Those workers hold the poll book containing the voter's name and can guide the process.

First-time voters at a polling location must bring a valid form of identification, such as a driver's license. Polls remain open until 8 p.m. on Election Day. Anyone in line by that time has the legal right to cast a ballot.

Mail-in ballots cannot be dropped off at polling places on Election Day. Poll workers at those sites do not have the authority to accept them. Instead, voters must deliver mail-in ballots to their county elections office or a secure drop box designated by county officials by 8 p.m.

A voter can surrender a mail-in ballot, sign a declaration, and then vote in person if they choose to do so. Only the voter may return a mail-in ballot, unless a person with a disability designates someone else in writing to deliver it on their behalf. The Pennsylvania Department of State provides a county-by-county list of drop box and return locations on its website.

Pennsylvania does not permit registration to vote at polling places. It is also not a state that allows registration on Election Day. The deadline to register for the 2026 midterm election was Oct. 19, 2026. Applications sent after that date will not be processed until after this election concludes. Voters who were not previously registered are ineligible to vote in the 2026 midterms.