To vote in a federal, state or local election, you must be (1) a U.S. citizen (for at least 30 days), (2) be age 18 on or before election day, (3) meet your state’s residency requirements, and (4) be registered to vote in the precinct of your current residence on or before your state’s voter registration deadline.
Residency requirement. Pennsylvania’s residency requirement is that you must be a resident of Pennsylvania and of the election district in which you live for at least 30 days before the next election. Since the next election is the Primary Election (May 17, 2022), you must have lived in your election district in Pennsylvania since at least April 17, 2022.
Registration requirement. You must be registered to vote in the precinct where you currently live. You must update your registration if you want to register with a political party or change the party you are currently registered with, change your name or change your address. You can check your current registration status by going to Vote.PA.gov.
Your next opportunity to vote will be for the May 17, 2022 Primary Election. The purpose of a Primary Election is to select the nominees for political parties in advance of the General Election, which takes place in November. Pennsylvania has a closed primary, which means that only registered voters who registered as either Democrats or Republicans can vote in the primary.
Republicans can only vote for Republican candidates; Democrats can only vote for Democratic candidates. Citizens who are not party affiliated cannot vote in a Primary unless there are ballot questions. In the upcoming Primary (May 17), there are no ballot questions.
To ensure your right to vote in the Primary on May 17, register or update your registration by completing the Voter Registration Application and mailing the form or delivering the form in person to the Board of Elections Office in the Bucks County Courthouse (55 East Court Street, Doylestown, PA 18901).
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