Voters in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, have one more day to vote early

DOYLESTOWN, Pa. — Voters in Bucks County, Pennsylvania — which has been heavily courted by presidential candidates — have their last chance Friday to request a mail-in ballot.

A court has set a 5 p.m. deadline for voters in suburban Philadelphia to request and receive a mail-in ballot.

The deadline is a three-day extension, granted in response to a lawsuit claiming voters faced disenfranchisement when they were turned away by county claim processing offices that had closed. The the lawsuit was filed by the campaign of Republican presidential candidate Donald TrumpRepublican National Committee and GOP Senate candidate David McCormick.

The deadlines and office closures led to long lines and confusion among some voters, who thought that, just like at polling stations on Election Day, they were entitled to vote if they were in line until the polls closed. But county election offices are not official polls, and officials have posted closing times as early as 2 p.m. on weekends.

Unlike other states, Pennsylvania does not have true in-person early voting. Voters can apply in advance for mail-in ballots online or in person at county election buildings.

Doing so in person can take about 12 minutes and requires applying for a mail-in ballot, waiting for a barcoded envelope to be printed, and then, if voters want, voting on-site. Or I can put it in a drop box or mailbox. Electoral offices must receive the ballots by Tuesday at 8 p.m.; a postmark by that time is not enough, according to the state.

No-excuse mail-in voting is relatively new in Pennsylvania. The Legislature passed an expansion of the practice in 2019. In 2020, Trump — with no evidence to back up the claim — said mail-in voting was rife with fraud, which discouraged many Republicans from voting by mail. That changed this year, with Trump and billionaire business mogul Elon Musk endorsing the practice and asking supporters to vote by mail early.

Pennsylvania is the biggest and richest battleground this year and has by far the most visits from Trump and Harris. The state narrowly went for Trump in 2016 before going to Biden in 2020. Bucks County voted for Hillary Clinton by a single point in 2016 before Biden widened the Democratic lead to five points in 2020.