Your 2026 mail-ballot guide

Vote by mail.
Make it count.

Request your ballot. Complete it carefully. Get it back on time. Here’s what Allegheny County voters need to know.

Request my mail ballot (opens in a new tab)I have my ballot. How do I return it?

Apply on Pennsylvania’s official website.

Request by
Application received by the county
Return by
Ballot received—not postmarked

All times Eastern.

01 / Request

Start with your ballot.

Use Pennsylvania’s official application to request a mail-in or absentee ballot.

  1. Open the state application.

    The button takes you directly to Pennsylvania’s voter services website—not a campaign form.

  2. Enter your information.

    Follow the application’s identity and mailing-address instructions. This campaign page does not collect your personal information.

  3. Review and submit.

    Finish the application on the state website. Your county must receive it by the application deadline.

Application deadline

Request my mail ballot (opens in a new tab)Official application deadline (opens in a new tab)

02 / Complete and return

A few careful steps. A ballot ready to return.

Follow the instructions that came with your ballot. Before you send it back, check each step below.

  1. Mark your ballot.

    Read the ballot instructions and complete both sides of every page. Use the ink specified in your instructions.

  2. Seal the inner envelope.

    Put your completed ballot inside the secrecy envelope and seal it. Leave that envelope unmarked.

  3. Seal, sign and date.

    Put the sealed secrecy envelope inside the outer return envelope. Seal it, then sign and enter the current date on the declaration.

Before you return it

  • Secrecy envelope sealed
  • Outer declaration signed
  • Current date entered

Check these three things, then follow the return instructions below.

Pennsylvania’s ballot instructions (opens in a new tab)

03 / Get it back in time

Received. Not just mailed.

Your completed ballot must reach the county by the return deadline. A postmark does not meet that deadline.

Ballot receipt deadline

Returning by mail?

Mail it as soon as you can, with the required postage. The county advises against relying on the mail during the week before Election Day. Consider returning it yourself instead.

Returning it in person?

Use an official county return site during its listed hours. Check the county’s current schedule before you leave.

See county return sites & hours (opens in a new tab)

Return your own ballot. If a disability prevents you from doing so, ask the county about its designated-agent process.Do not drop a completed mail ballot at your polling place.

County return location

County Office Building

Allegheny County Elections Division

542 Forbes AvenuePittsburgh, PA 15219
Get directions (opens in a new tab)

Hours

Monday–Friday, 8:30 AM–4:30 PM through Election Day. Special return-only and Election Day hours are listed below.

Closed October 12 for the county holiday. Check the county’s detailed schedule for date-specific entrance instructions.

Return-only hours

Friday, October 30
11 AM–7 PM
Saturday, October 31 & Sunday, November 1
9 AM–5 PM
Monday, November 2
11 AM–7 PM

Election Day, Tuesday, November 3: 7 AM–8 PM. The County Office Building is the only ballot return site open on Election Day.

Check county return sites & hours (opens in a new tab)County’s 2026 building service schedule (opens in a new tab)

County return location

North Park Ice Rink

Allegheny County ballot return site

1200 Pearce Mill RoadWexford, PA 15090
Get directions (opens in a new tab)

Hours

Saturday–Sunday, October 17–18 and October 24–25: 9 AM–4 PM.

Additional return-only hours are listed below.

Return-only hours

Friday, October 30
11 AM–7 PM
Saturday, October 31 & Sunday, November 1
9 AM–5 PM
Monday, November 2
11 AM–7 PM

Not open for ballot return on Election Day. Use the County Office Building on November 3.

Check county return sites & hours (opens in a new tab)

04 / Track

Check on your ballot.

Use Pennsylvania’s official tracker to check your mail-ballot status. Questions about what you see? Contact the county Elections Division.

Check my ballot (opens in a new tab)

Allegheny County Elections412-350-4500

Another way to vote

Rather vote in person?

Election Day: Tuesday, November 3, 2026 · Polls open 7 AM–8 PM.

If you have not returned your mail ballot, bring it and the outer return envelope to your polling place. Surrender both and sign the declaration to vote a regular ballot.

Without the ballot and return envelope to surrender, you can vote a provisional ballot. If you already returned your mail ballot, you cannot vote again at the polls.

Read the state’s in-person guidance (opens in a new tab)