Student Voting Project | Pennsylvania

Voting at School

ID Requirements

All first-time voters must show a valid form of ID when they vote at the polls or by absentee ballot. Valid ID includes a Pennsylvania driver's license or non-driver's ID, a student ID, an employee ID, a passport, any other photo ID issued by Pennsylvania or the U.S. government, or any of the following, as long as they have your name and address on them: a non-photo ID issued by Pennsylvania or the U.S. government, a current utility bill, a current bank statement, a firearm permit, a paycheck, or another government check. Online printouts of utility bills will be accepted as long as the company logo is visible along with your name and address; cell phone bills, however, do not qualify as utility bills. If you don't show ID, you will have to vote a provisional ballot. Within 7 days of the election, the county will decide whether or not to count your ballot. It may help to go to the county elections office and show ID by the Friday after the election.

Registration Requirements

Your application for registration must be received or postmarked by 30 days before Election Day. The 2008 deadline is Monday, October 6th, because the 30th day before the election falls on a Saturday.

Residency Requirements

Pennsylvania law gives students the right to register to vote in the district where they attend college.

For this reason, it's highly unlikely that you would have your registration denied on the basis of residency or face a residency challenge in Pennsylvania. However, students should be aware of rumors suggesting that in light of Pennsylvania's "swing state" status, partisan groups will be ratcheting up their efforts to challenge new voters this fall—both at the registration stage and at the polls in November.

Students who lived in Pennsylvania before moving elsewhere to attend school, and who wish to establish or keep their Pennsylvania voting residency (i.e., at their parents' Pennsylvania address), should have no problem doing so unless they've already registered to vote in another state. Like all states, Pennsylvania allows students to keep their voting residency even if they move out of the district to attend school, and the only way you might lose this residency is by establishing residency in a new state. While registering to vote in another state is not automatically considered an abandonment of your Pennsylvania residency, some judges or officials might view it as such. Casting a ballot in another state will definitely be considered an abandonment of your Pennsylvania residency , so students who have voted in another state will have to re-establish Pennsylvania residency if they wish to vote there.

Challenges to Residency

If your registration is denied, you have the right to appeal to the Election Commission and ask for a hearing. The procedure for residency challenges requires that the challenger complete a sworn statement claiming you shouldn't be registered. You then have to complete a sworn response, and the Election Commission makes a decision. If your registration is either denied or cancelled, you have the right to appeal to a court.

At the polls, you can be challenged on the basis of residency by a poll worker, a partisan watcher, or any other voter. If you're challenged, you'll have to get additional evidence, such as another registered voter to swear to your residency.

Absentee Requirement

If you will be absent from the town where you’re registered for the whole time polls are open because of your “duties, occupation or business,” which includes attending college, you should be able to vote by absentee ballot in Pennsylvania, although there is not a specific rule for students. Blank application forms are available on the web site of the Department of State. Your absentee application must be received by your county board of elections no later than 5:00 p.m. on the Tuesday before Election Day. Your absentee ballot must be received by the county board of elections before 5:00 p.m. on the Friday before Election Day. Neither your application nor your ballot needs to be witnessed. If you are a first-time voter, you must include with your ballot a copy of valid ID as described above in the outer ballot envelope. Do not include a copy of your ID in the inner “security” envelope or your ballot may be invalidated.

Voting at Home

ID Requirements

All first-time voters must show a valid form of ID when they vote at the polls or by absentee ballot. Valid ID includes a Pennsylvania driver's license or non-driver's ID, a student ID, an employee ID, a passport, any other photo ID issued by Pennsylvania or the U.S. government, or any of the following, as long as they have your name and address on them: a non-photo ID issued by Pennsylvania or the U.S. government, a current utility bill, a current bank statement, a firearm permit, a paycheck, or another government check. Online printouts of utility bills will be accepted as long as the company logo is visible along with your name and address; cell phone bills, however, do not qualify as utility bills. If you don't show ID, you will have to vote a provisional ballot. Within 7 days of the election, the county will decide whether or not to count your ballot. It may help to go to the county elections office and show ID by the Friday after the election.

Registration Requirements

Your application for registration must be received or postmarked by 30 days before Election Day. The 2008 deadline is Monday, October 6th, because the 30th day before the election falls on a Saturday.

Residency Requirements

Pennsylvania law gives students the right to register to vote in the district where they attend college.

For this reason, it's highly unlikely that you would have your registration denied on the basis of residency or face a residency challenge in Pennsylvania. However, students should be aware of rumors suggesting that in light of Pennsylvania's "swing state" status, partisan groups will be ratcheting up their efforts to challenge new voters this fall—both at the registration stage and at the polls in November.

Students who lived in Pennsylvania before moving elsewhere to attend school, and who wish to establish or keep their Pennsylvania voting residency (i.e., at their parents' Pennsylvania address), should have no problem doing so unless they've already registered to vote in another state. Like all states, Pennsylvania allows students to keep their voting residency even if they move out of the district to attend school, and the only way you might lose this residency is by establishing residency in a new state. While registering to vote in another state is not automatically considered an abandonment of your Pennsylvania residency, some judges or officials might view it as such. Casting a ballot in another state will definitely be considered an abandonment of your Pennsylvania residency , so students who have voted in another state will have to re-establish Pennsylvania residency if they wish to vote there.

Challenges to Residency

If your registration is denied, you have the right to appeal to the Election Commission and ask for a hearing. The procedure for residency challenges requires that the challenger complete a sworn statement claiming you shouldn't be registered. You then have to complete a sworn response, and the Election Commission makes a decision. If your registration is either denied or cancelled, you have the right to appeal to a court.

At the polls, you can be challenged on the basis of residency by a poll worker, a partisan watcher, or any other voter. If you're challenged, you'll have to get additional evidence, such as another registered voter to swear to your residency.

Absentee Requirement

If you will be absent from the town where you’re registered for the whole time polls are open because of your “duties, occupation or business,” which includes attending college, you should be able to vote by absentee ballot in Pennsylvania, although there is not a specific rule for students. Blank application forms are available on the web site of the Department of State. Your absentee application must be received by your county board of elections no later than 5:00 p.m. on the Tuesday before Election Day. Your absentee ballot must be received by the county board of elections before 5:00 p.m. on the Friday before Election Day. Neither your application nor your ballot needs to be witnessed. If you are a first-time voter, you must include with your ballot a copy of valid ID as described above in the outer ballot envelope. Do not include a copy of your ID in the inner “security” envelope or your ballot may be invalidated.

[1] 4 Pa. Code §183.3.(4); Op. Atty. Gen., No. 64, 1971.  For additional information on registering as a student in Pennsylvania, see www.votespa.com and use the drop down menu to select "I am a college student."  

[2] 25 Pa.C.S.A. § 1302.

[3] 25 Pa.C.S.A. § 1330.

[4] 25 Pa.C.S.A. § 1329.

[5] 25 Pa.C.S. § 1602.

[6] 25 P.S. § 3051(d) (2008).

[7] Id.

[8] 25 Pa.C.S.A. § 1326.

[9] 25 P.S. § 3050 (a) & (a.1).

[10] Interview with Molly O'Leary, Chief, Division of Voter Registration, Pennsylvania Department of State (July 21, 2008).

[11] 25 P.S. § 3050 (a.2).

[12] 25 P.S. § 3050 (a.4) (IV).

[13] 25 P.S. § 3146.1.

[14] http://www.dos.state.pa.us.

[15] 25 P.S. § 3146.2a.

[16] 25 P.S. § 3146.8.

[17] 25 P.S. § 3146.4

[18] 25 P.S. § 3146.2a (a.1) and (a.2).