Be Sure to Cast Your Vote in the General Election on November 5th

The General Election is tomorrow, Tuesday, November 5, 2024.

You can find your assigned polling place by checking the location listed at the bottom of your registration status page. Polls will be open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day. If you are a first-time voter or are voting at a new polling place, here are helpful tips to learn how to get ready. And be sure to arrange for transportation to your polling place in advance.

View the Lawrence County polling locations HERE.

View the Beaver County polling locations HERE.

About the General Election

According to the official website of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, General elections are always held the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. In a general election, Pennsylvanians vote for federal, state, and local officials, including:

• U.S. president,
• U.S. senators and U.S. representatives to Congress,
• Pennsylvania governor and lieutenant governor,
• Pennsylvania General Assembly members (state Senators and state Representatives),
• Attorney general, auditor general, and state treasurer,
• County and local officials (in odd-numbered years), and
• Judges and magisterial district judges (in odd-numbered years).

In odd-numbered years, the November general election is also called a municipal election because there are no federal or state office races on the ballot.

Every four years, the general election is also called a presidential election because the office of U.S. president is on the ballot. The president is officially elected by the Electoral College, not by popular vote. But the popular vote – including your vote – helps determine which candidate receives Pennsylvania’s electoral votes.

About the Electoral College

The U.S. Constitution created the Electoral College to ensure that each state has a role in selecting the president, no matter its population. Each state has the same number of electoral votes as it has members of Congress. There are a total of 538 votes in the Electoral College. A candidate must win a simple majority–270 electoral votes– to win the election.

The Electoral College is composed of a group of citizens known as electors. Electors are chosen during their state’s primary election to cast their Electoral College votes for U.S. president and vice president on behalf of that state’s voters.

Pennsylvania has 19 electoral votes. All 19 of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes go to the candidates for U.S. president and vice president who win the popular vote in Pennsylvania.

When you cast your vote for president, you are telling your state’s electors to cast their votes for the candidate you select.