Philly’s mail ballot drop boxes are open for the midterm elections. Here’s how to use them.

Philly’s mail ballot drop boxes are now open for the 2022 midterm elections.

The city opened 18 drop boxes in mid-October as mail ballots began being delivered to Pennsylvania voters who request them. It then added a series of pop-up sites where voters can drop off a ballot with an elections worker instead of a permanent drop box.

Here’s what you need to know about using the drop boxes:

A drop box is a secure box, kind of like a postal box, that voters can use to return their mail ballots. They can be a convenient way for voters to hand-deliver their ballots without worrying about mail delivery and deadlines.

Drop boxes have signage to indicate their use — and provide directions — so you’ll know you’re using the right thing.

Yes.

Drop boxes are designed to protect their contents, including to be resistant to tampering and mishap. After an SUV slammed into a drop box in Washington state in 2019 — running over it and getting stuck on top — there was no real damage to the box. It was reinstalled the next day.

Philadelphia’s drop boxes are permanently installed and secured to the ground.

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Security cameras are recording at all of Philadelphia’s drop boxes round the clock. While there’s always some very small chance of someone trying to mess with ballots, such as by setting a drop box on fire, that would be a crime. (And there’s always a small chance of someone trying to illegally interfere with in-person voting, too.)

Oh, and Philly’s drop boxes have fire-suppression systems inside of them.

The bottom line is drop boxes are designed to be a safe and secure way to conveniently return mail ballots.

The Philadelphia City Commissioners, the office that runs elections, set up 18 drop boxes:

Any Philadelphia voters who want to return their mail ballot can use a drop box to do so. Voters can use any drop box in the city.

One important requirement: You can return only your own ballot. That means, for example, that your spouse, child, best friend, or neighbor can’t drop off your ballot for you. The only exception is for voters with disabilities who authorize someone to return their ballots.

Voters from outside the city should check with their county elections office — not every county has drop boxes, and ballots should be returned only to the correct county.

Drop boxes are a secure way for voters to return their mail ballots, and some voters find them a convenient way to ensure their ballots are received on time.

While mail ballots can always be returned through the Postal Service, mail delivery times can vary. For voters who are concerned about their ballots making it to Philadelphia’s elections office on time, using the drop boxes that are owned and operated by the city helps ensure that.

Mail ballots must be received by Philadelphia elections officials by 8 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 8.

Postmarks don’t count; it doesn’t matter when you send the ballot, what matters is when it is received.

Ballots that are placed in drop boxes by the deadline are considered on time, and drop boxes are locked at 8 p.m. sharp on Election Day. If it’s getting close to Election Day and you’re worried about the deadline, using a drop box is a way to make sure your ballot is accepted as on time.

You don’t have to! Nobody is required to use a drop box — if you have a mail ballot, you can return it by mail. Just make sure to mind the deadline. The elections office in Room 140 of City Hall is also open during the week for voters to drop off ballots.

You can also vote in person on Election Day. If you have a mail ballot and then decide to vote in person, take your ballot materials — your ballot and envelopes — to the polling place and let the poll worker know you’d like to vote in person instead.

If you requested a mail ballot but don’t have it to take to the polling place, tell the poll worker and you’ll be allowed to vote using a provisional ballot.

The requirements are generally the same as with other methods of returning mail ballots:

After that, you’re done!

Philadelphia’s drop boxes are available 24 hours a day, through the 8 p.m. Election Day deadline.

The drop boxes are just for dropping off a completed ballot to cast your vote.

If you need other help, visit Philadelphia’s elections office at Room 140 of City Hall — 1400 JFK Blvd. — for assistance between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. during the week. You can also call 215-686-VOTE.

The distribution of mail ballot drop boxes is uneven and inequitable across the city, with white and Asian voters significantly more likely than Black and Hispanic voters to live near drop boxes. City elections officials know that.

After opening the permanent drop boxes, the commissioners announced a series of temporary pop-up sites, beginning Oct. 18, that help address some of those gaps by targeting neighborhoods with little access to a permanent drop box.

At those pop-up sites, elections workers will collect ballots from voters within specific hours once a week. For example, from 2 to 4 p.m. every Monday at Paschalville Library in Southwest Philadelphia. Find the full list of locations and hours here.

On Oct. 14, the commissioners installed a permanent drop box at Kingsessing Recreation Center after City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier criticized the office for not having a drop box in her district.