\n\t\t\t\t\t\tPennsylvanians will be gearing up and getting ready to cast their votes during the Primary Election on May 19, 2026. In preparation for the election, Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 has put together the perfect guide to help you know what to expect and what you should know before hitting the election polls. DEADLINES: County elections office must receive mail-in or absentee ballot by May 12, 2026 Polls open on election day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. (May 19, 2026) WHAT ARE PRIMARY ELECTIONS? Primary elections in Pennsylvania, according to the state’s official government website, are held on the third Tuesday in May in most years. During presidential election years, a primary election is held on the fourth Tuesday of April. In this type of election, Democratic and Republican voters select the candidates who they want to represent their respective parties during the November general election. Republican voters can only vote for Republican candidates, and Democratic voters can only vote for Democratic candidates. This is because Pennsylvania has a closed primary system. While voting in a primary election for party nominees is limited to only voters registered as Democratic or Republican, all registered voters can vote in a primary election if the ballot includes any of the following: a constitutional amendment question, a ballot question, or a special election in their district.The candidate for each party that receives the most votes will go on to run in the general election. For more information on the types of elections in Pennsylvania, visit the state’s government website here. HOW DO I KNOW I AM ELIGIBLE TO VOTE?To register to vote in Pennsylvania, you must be a citizen of the United States or be a citizen one month before the next primary, special, municipal, or general election.Officials said you at least have to register to vote in the state 15 days before the next election, the state’s government website says.In addition, you must reside in the election district in which you want to register and vote at least 30 days before the next primary, special, municipal, or general election.Furthermore, you must be at least 18 years old on or before the election to vote.When you register, you must do so with the address where you currently live. If you recently moved, you can register or update your voter registration information online.THE MUST-KNOWS FOR VOTING IN-PERSON If you are taking to the polls “on fo Action News 4 has you covered in what you need to know when you arrive at your designated precinct. Watch the video below to see the times you can vote and what you may need to bring with you to cast your vote at your local precinct. VIDEO: Voting in-person on primary election day in Pennsylvania In Pennsylvania, you only need to bring your identification if it is your first time at a new polling place.The following are approved forms of photo identification to vote:Pennsylvania driver’s license or PennDOT ID cardID issued by any commonwealth agencyID issued by the U.S. governmentU.S. passportU.S. armed forces IDStudent IDEmployee IDYou do not need photo identification to vote. Pennsylvania also has a list of approved non-photo forms of identification that can be used:Confirmation or voter registration card issued by your county elections officeNonphoto ID issued by the commonwealthNonphoto ID issued by the federal governmentFirearm permitCurrent utility billCurrent bank statementCurrent paycheckGovernment check For additional information on the requirements to vote and to see a full list of what you may need to bring if you’re a new voter, visit the following links: FIRST TIME VOTERS IN PENNSYLVANIA FIND YOUR POLLING PLACE THE MUST-KNOWS FOR VOTING BY MAIL-IN & ABSENTEE BALLOT If you’re voting by mail, Action News 4 has provided you with important dates you need to be aware of to ensure your vote is processed in time. Watch the video below to see what you need to know if you’re voting by a mail-in ballot: VIDEO: Voting by mail-in, absentee ballot in Pennsylvania’s primary electionYour application for a mail-in or absentee ballot must be received by your county elections office by 5 p.m. on May 12, 2026. Your county election office must relieve your completed mail ballot by 8 p.m. on May 19, 2026. If you missed the deadline due to an emergency or last-minute absence from your municipality, you may still be able to obtain a mail ballot after the May 12 deadline. View the additional links below for more information. For additional information on the process of mail-in and absentee ballots, visit the following links: MAIL-IN AND ABSENTEE BALLOTS CONTACT YOUR COUNTY ELECTIONS OFFICE CHECK YOUR VOTER REGISTRATION STATUSEMERGENCY ABSENTEE BALLOT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND LINKS UPDATING VOTER REGISTRATION FILE ELECTIONS COMPLAINT\/ISSUE SIGN UP AS AN ELECTION POLL WORKER Download the WTAE app to stay connected with everything you need to know for the May 2026 primary election in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our email newsletters to get election coverage updates in your inbox.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\tPennsylvania \u2014 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Pennsylvanians will be gearing up and getting ready to cast their votes during the Primary Election on May 19, 2026. <\/p>\n
In preparation for the election, Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 has put together the perfect guide to help you know what to expect and what you should know before hitting the election polls. <\/p>\n
DEADLINES: <\/p>\n
County elections office must receive mail-in or absentee ballot by May 12, 2026 Polls open on election day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. (May 19, 2026) WHAT ARE PRIMARY ELECTIONS? <\/p>\n
Primary elections in Pennsylvania, according to the state’s official government website, are held on the third Tuesday in May in most years. <\/p>\n
During presidential election years, a primary election is held on the fourth Tuesday of April. <\/p>\n
In this type of election, Democratic and Republican voters select the candidates who they want to represent their respective parties during the November general election. <\/p>\n
Republican voters can only vote for Republican candidates, and Democratic voters can only vote for Democratic candidates. This is because Pennsylvania has a closed primary system. <\/p>\n
While voting in a primary election for party nominees is limited to only voters registered as Democratic or Republican, all registered voters can vote in a primary election if the ballot includes any of the following:<\/p>\n
a constitutional amendment question, a ballot question, or a special election in their district.<\/p>\n
The candidate for each party that receives the most votes will go on to run in the general election. <\/p>\n
For more information on the types of elections in Pennsylvania, visit the state’s government website here<\/a>. <\/p>\n HOW DO I KNOW I AM ELIGIBLE TO VOTE?<\/p>\n To register to vote in Pennsylvania, you must be a citizen of the United States or be a citizen one month before the next primary, special, municipal, or general election.<\/p>\n Officials said you at least have to register to vote in the state 15 days before the next election, the state’s government website says<\/a>.<\/p>\n In addition, you must reside in the election district in which you want to register and vote at least 30 days before the next primary, special, municipal, or general election.<\/p>\n Furthermore, you must be at least 18 years old on or before the election to vote.<\/p>\n When you register, you must do so with the address where you currently live. If you recently moved, you can register or update your voter registration information online.<\/a><\/p>\n THE MUST-KNOWS FOR VOTING IN-PERSON <\/p>\n If you are taking to the polls “on fo Action News 4 has you covered in what you need to know when you arrive at your designated precinct. <\/p>\n Watch the video below to see the times you can vote and what you may need to bring with you to cast your vote at your local precinct. <\/p>\n VIDEO: Voting in-person on primary election day in Pennsylvania <\/p>\n In Pennsylvania, you only need to bring your identification if it is your first time at a new polling place.<\/p>\n The following are approved forms of photo identification to vote:<\/p>\n Pennsylvania driver’s license or PennDOT ID cardID issued by any commonwealth agencyID issued by the U.S. governmentU.S. passportU.S. armed forces IDStudent IDEmployee ID<\/p>\n You do not need photo identification to vote. Pennsylvania also has a list of approved non-photo forms of identification that can be used:<\/p>\n Confirmation or voter registration card issued by your county elections officeNonphoto ID issued by the commonwealthNonphoto ID issued by the federal governmentFirearm permitCurrent utility billCurrent bank statementCurrent paycheckGovernment check <\/p>\n For additional information on the requirements to vote and to see a full list of what you may need to bring if you’re a new voter, visit the following links: <\/p>\n THE MUST-KNOWS FOR VOTING BY MAIL-IN & ABSENTEE BALLOT <\/p>\n If you’re voting by mail, Action News 4 has provided you with important dates you need to be aware of to ensure your vote is processed in time. <\/p>\n Watch the video below to see what you need to know if you’re voting by a mail-in ballot: <\/p>\n VIDEO: Voting by mail-in, absentee ballot in Pennsylvania’s primary election<\/p>\n Your application for a mail-in or absentee ballot must be received by your county elections office by 5 p.m. on May 12, 2026. <\/p>\n Your county election office must relieve your completed mail ballot by 8 p.m. on May 19, 2026. <\/p>\n If you missed the deadline due to an emergency or last-minute absence from your municipality, you may still be able to obtain a mail ballot after the May 12 deadline. View the additional links below for more information. <\/p>\n For additional information on the process of mail-in and absentee ballots, visit the following links: <\/p>\n ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND LINKS<\/p>\n Download the WTAE app<\/a> to stay connected with everything you need to know for the May 2026 primary election in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our email newsletters<\/a> to get election coverage updates in your inbox.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pennsylvanians will be gearing up and getting ready to cast their votes during the Primary Election on May…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":190430,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[84860,84861,10077,900,894,8289,3290,349,4112,5523,8119,7614,2298,3140,13211,47353,83473,17728,9520,7479,28,30,29,5638,11266,85,30049,420,1823,5637,84862,437,1419,5910],"class_list":["post-190429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pennsylvania","tag-2026-primary-election","tag-2026-primary-election-in-pennsylvania","tag-absentee-ballot","tag-action-news","tag-allegheny-county","tag-armstrong-county","tag-beaver-county","tag-berks-county","tag-butler-county","tag-carbon-county","tag-clarion-county","tag-county-election-office","tag-fayette-county","tag-greene-county","tag-identification","tag-link","tag-mail-in","tag-may","tag-mercer-county","tag-november-general-election","tag-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania-headlines","tag-pennsylvania-news","tag-primary-election","tag-somerset-county","tag-state","tag-venango-county","tag-video","tag-vote","tag-voter","tag-voter-registration-information","tag-washington-county","tag-western-pennsylvania","tag-westmoreland-county"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=190429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190429\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/190430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=190429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=190429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=190429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}