Election Day 2026 is now less than a month away, and if you need to register to vote or apply for a mail-in ballot, time is ticking.<\/p>\n
There’s a gubernatorial election in Pennsylvania<\/a>, and the entire House of Representatives is up for a vote, with races to watch in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.<\/p>\n If you want to participate, you need to be registered \u2014 and if you don’t want to vote at your polling place, you’ll need to apply to vote by mail.<\/p>\n We’re going to set you up for success with some key deadlines to know ahead of Election Day.<\/p>\n How do I register to vote in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, and what’s the deadline?<\/p>\n Voter registration deadlines vary across the Philadelphia area, but you still have a bit of time.<\/p>\n Delaware<\/p>\n Delaware automatically registers voters<\/a> at the DMV, so you might already be registered. You can check your status online at the Delaware Department of State’s voter portal<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you need to register, you can find your options here on Elections.Delaware.gov<\/a>.<\/p>\n The deadline to register is Saturday, Oct. 10.<\/p>\n New Jersey<\/p>\n Here’s where to find details on registering to vote online<\/a> or by paper form in New Jersey.<\/p>\n You can check your registration status here<\/a> on the New Jersey Department of State website.<\/p>\n The deadline to register is Tuesday, Oct. 13.<\/p>\n Pennsylvania<\/p>\n You can find information about registering to vote here<\/a> on the Pennsylvania Department of State website.<\/p>\n The deadline to register is Monday, Oct. 19.<\/p>\n How do I apply for a mail-in ballot and what’s the deadline?Pennsylvania<\/p>\n You have until 5 p.m. on Oct. 27 to apply for a mail-in ballot. Your county election office must receive your application before that deadline.<\/p>\n You can fill out the application online at PAVoterServices.PA.gov<\/a>, by mail, or in person at your county election office.<\/p>\n You can get more details on the process<\/a> here.<\/p>\n If you want to hand-deliver your mail ballot, there are details on ballot dropboxes<\/a> here on the state website. Remember, your county election office needs to receive the ballot by 8 p.m. on Election Day.<\/p>\n New Jersey<\/p>\n The deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot is Tuesday, Oct. 27.<\/p>\n You can fill out an application for a mail ballot online<\/a>, or apply in person at your county clerk’s office by 3 p.m. on Election Day.<\/p>\n Once you’ve filled out your mail-in ballot, you can take it to your county elections office<\/a> or find a dropbox in your county<\/a>.<\/p>\n Remember, your county election office needs to receive the ballot by 8 p.m. on Election Day. \u00a0<\/p>\n Delaware<\/p>\n Delaware’s laws on mail-in voting are narrower than those of the other two states in this article. The First State allows absentee ballots to be sent by mail, but you need a valid reason to be eligible for voting by absentee ballot.<\/p>\n Those accepted reasons include public service out of state, a vacation that coincides with Election Day, and sickness or a disability.\u00a0<\/p>\n You can read more about the process<\/a> on Elections.Delaware.gov. Once you receive and fill out your ballot, you can either mail or hand-deliver it to the county elections office<\/a>.<\/p>\n The absentee ballot application deadline is Oct. 30, 2026.<\/p>\n When do polls open on Election Day?New Jersey<\/p>\n Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.<\/p>\n Pennsylvania<\/p>\n Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.<\/p>\n Delaware\u00a0<\/p>\n Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.<\/p>\n How do I find my polling place?Pennsylvania\u00a0<\/p>\n To find your polling place in Pennsylvania, visit PAVoterServices.pa.gov and use the “find your polling place” tool<\/a>.<\/p>\n New Jersey<\/p>\n To find your polling place in New Jersey, enter the address and ZIP code where you are registered into this polling place search tool<\/a>.<\/p>\n Delaware<\/p>\n In Delaware, you can enter your address on this polling place lookup tool<\/a>, and the tool will tell you your polling place.<\/p>\n Can I vote early? How and when do I vote early?Pennsylvania\u00a0<\/p>\n Pennsylvania doesn’t have early voting at polling places, but if you want to vote early, you can apply for a mail-in ballot in person and vote that ballot the same day.<\/p>\n To do this, you’ll first need to make sure your county elections office has ballots available. A list of the counties with available ballots is here<\/a>.<\/p>\n New Jersey<\/p>\n In New Jersey, your county will make early voting locations available from Saturday, Oct. 24, through Sunday, Nov. 1. You can find a list of locations here<\/a>.<\/p>\n These locations are open for early voting from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Saturday. On Sundays, they close two hours earlier, at 6 p.m.<\/p>\n Delaware<\/p>\n Early voting in Delaware begins Oct. 22, 2026, at 7 a.m.<\/p>\n