Times Observer photo by Brian Ferry Notifications were sent out Thursday to Warren County voters who signed up online to conduct their voting by mail. The Department of State notifications indicate that ballots will be sent out within the next few days and should be delivered within seven.

On Thursday, notifications were sent out to Warren County voters who signed up online to conduct their voting by mail.

Similar notifications should be arriving by mail to those who signed up by mail.

The Department of State notifications indicate that ballots will be sent out within the next few days and should be delivered within seven.

Warren County Director of Elections Lisa Rivett confirmed.

“My ballots are pretty much ready,” she said Thursday.

She will mail ballots to voters who signed up in advance for mail-in voting, just like she has every year for those signed up for absentee ballots.

Several hundred voters in the county will receive their ballots in the next week.

Rivett said there are 204 ‘regular’ absentee voters, 11 more military and civilian voters overseas or in remote areas, and 161 mail-in voters.

Those numbers could increase.

The deadline to apply for mail-in voting for the April 28 primary election is April 21.

The main requirement for voters to apply for mail-in voting is to be registered to vote.

New voters have until April 13 to register in order to vote in the April primary.

The April 13 deadline also applies to making changes to a registration including party affiliation.

She can process both a change in registration and a mail-in ballot application at the same time, but voters who want to change parties are taking a risk if they make that request after they apply for a mail-in ballot.

Mail-in voters are locked in once their ballot is mailed, Rivett said. “Once the ballot leaves here, you can’t change party” for the next election.

Voters who are interested in mail-in voting, but have not signed up, may find the application form at VotesPA.com/ApplyMailBallot. Applications must be returned to Rivett no later than April 21 in order for the voter to be eligible for mail-in voting in the April 28 primary election. Applications must be received in the office by the deadline. Postmark dates do not apply, Rivett said.

Those who apply by then should receive their ballots quickly. “Once I get it in the mail, I have 48 hours to process it and get it back out,” she said.

On Election Day, voters who aren’t sure their applications went through may go to the polls. There will be marks on their signature lines indicating their status.

“If your ballot has been returned timely, the mark will read, ‘mail-in ballot cast — not eligible,'” Rivett said.

In cases where the mail-in or absentee ballot was not returned in time for the books to be fully updated, the line will indicate that, saying, ‘issue provisional ballot.’

If a voter mails in a ballot late and then fills out a provisional ballot, Rivett will determine which arrived in her office first and will void the other. “The first one that gets here is going to be counted,” she said.

Mail-in voters cannot turn in their mail-in ballots at their polling places. Those ballots must be returned to Rivett at the courthouse no later than 8 p.m. on Election Day. Handing them to a poll worker will result in the ballot being returned after 8 p.m.

There is no need to wait. The mail-in polls open as soon as the ballots are delivered.

Rivett’s advice to voters who are ready is “as soon as you get your ballot, fill it out, and mail it in.”