Voting at a polling place is still a thing. Have (and share) a plan

With all the hubbub surrounding mail-in and/or absentee ballots, and confusion about the location of secure drop boxes, and early voting sites this election season, you might be thinking the easiest thing to do is simply vote at a polling place as you always have.

Fair.

Still, there are ways you can make the experience of voting in person during the pandemic safer and less onerous. We’ve put together a voting-in-person plan — in six simple and colorful graphics — that you can share with your community and neighbors, or on social (just right-click on the graphic to download it). The suggestions we’ve included come from VotesPA and the CDC  — so you know they are trustworthy.

But before we get to the plan, here are some important deadlines Pennsylvania voters need to keep in mind:

• The last day you can apply for a mail-in/absentee ballot is October 27.
• If you are returning your mail-in/absentee ballot by mail, it must be postmarked by 8 p.m. on November 3.
• If you are returning your mail-in/absentee ballot at your county board of elections office or other designated location or drop box, it must be there by 8 p.m. on November 3.
• Polling places open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. on November 3.

Voting at a polling place plan:

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UPDATE: Though the graphic we created reflected the PA gov’s website recommendations at the time this piece was published, both the state and the City of Philadelphia now urge voters who completed a mail-in ballot to drop off their completed ballots at a satellite election offices or at secure ballot drop boxes. Click here to find those for the City of Philadelphia; click here for ballot return locations for the rest of the state, but pay close attention to the hours of operation, because they don’t always wholly coincide with the hours the polls are open.

After you vote:

Pat yourself on the back.

As Cambodian-American human rights activist Loung Ung said, “Voting is not only our right — it is our power.”

Have a sticker.

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