An Overview of Pennsylvania’s 2024 Elections
As the 2024 election season approaches, Pennsylvania gears up for another significant political year. In addition to the Presidential elections, voters will have the opportunity to vote for numerous federal and state offices. These elections play a crucial role in defining Pennsylvania’s policy making process for the upcoming years.
This guide covers key dates, insights into the ballot, and effective communication strategies to relay this information to voters.
As you develop your funding and GOTV strategies for 2024, we hope this overview will be a helpful resource in your preparations for the 2024 elections in Pennsylvania.
2024 Overview
Pennsylvania is gearing up for a significant electoral year with a multitude of races. Here is a concise breakdown of the elections:
February 13th Special Election (jump to section)
April 23rd Primaries (jump to section)
November 5th General Elections (jump to section)
At the end of the article, we outline helpful voter education strategies for 2024.
February 13th Special Election
Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 140 stands vacant as former state representative John Galloway resigned after winning a district court judge seat in Bucks County. The February 13th Special Election was scheduled to fill in the remainder of Galloway’s term.
The election involves residents of House District 140, which is located in Bucks County. HD 140 includes Falls Township, parts of Middletown Township, Morrisville, and Tullytown.
Key dates
Filing Deadline: December 26, 2023
Voter Registration Deadline: January 29, 2024
Last day to request mail-in or absentee ballot: February 6, 2024 (ballots must be received by 8pm on February 13 or by February 20 for military and overseas ballots)
Election Date: February 13, 2024
Source: Pennsylvania Department of State
What’s on the ballot:
140th District House Seat, Bucks County
Democratic Candidate Jim Prokopiak
Republican Candidate Candace Cabanas
Source: Pennsylvania Department of State
Messaging & strategy considerations:
Although voter turnout is low in special elections, many voters still look for useful information to help them in the voting process. Emphasize the importance of local elections in setting state policy. Offer an easy way for voters to check if they are within the 140th District. These highly-engaged voters may make great
Special elections offer a great opportunity for registering voters and testing new field strategies, before the General Election.
April 23rd Primaries
Pennsylvania’s first big election will be April 23, 2024. It involves all voters statewide.
This past August, Pennsylvania lawmakers voted on legislation to move up the state's 2024 presidential primary date, although no official change was made. The state Senate passed a bill that would move primaries to March 19, 2024, while the House passed its own bill that would move the date to April 2, 2024. As of October 2023, state Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman stated the Senate had already considered the April 2 date and decided the date was too close to Easter. Additionally, county officials have spoken out that given the circumstance, it is too late to move the 2024 Primary. As of now, no measures have been taken by either the House or the Senate, and the Pennsylvania primaries will remain on April 23, 2024.
This is part of a national trend in which many states have moved their presidential primaries earlier to give voters more influence in the presidential election. Moreover, the current date of April 23rd coincides with the Jewish holiday of Passover.
Sources: WHYY-FM, Spotlight PA
Key dates
Filing Deadline: February 13, 2024 (last day for candidates to withdraw is February 28, 2024)
Voter Registration Deadline: April 8, 2024
Last day for early voting: April 16, 2024 (early voting window varies by county, contact your County Election Officials for more information)
Last day to request mail-in or absentee ballot: April 16, 2024 (ballots must be received by 8pm April 23 or by April 30 for military and overseas ballots)
Election Date: April 23, 2024
Source: Pennsylvania Department of State
What’s on the ballot:
US President: Includes 3 Democratic candidates (Joe Biden, Dean Phillips, and Marianne Williamson) and 5 Republican candidates (Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Asa Hutchinson, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Donald Trump)
US Senator: Includes 2 Democratic candidates (Incumbent Bob Casey Jr. and Blaine Forkner) and 3 Republican candidates (David McCormick, Tariq Parvez, and Cory Widmann)
US House of Representatives (17 seats)
State Senator
State House of Representatives
Attorney General: Includes 5 Democratic candidates (Keir Bradford-Grey, Eugene DePasquale, Joe Khan, Jared Solomon, and Jack Stollsteimer) and 3 Republican candidates (Katayoun Copeland, Dave Sunday, and Craig Williams)
Auditor General: Includes Democratic candidate Malcolm Kenyatta and Republican candidate Timothy DeFoor (Incumbent)
Treasurer: Includes Democratic candidate Ryan Bizzarro
Sources: Ballotpedia, Erie Times News
Messaging & strategy considerations:
Most voters aren’t familiar with primary elections. When messaging this election, take time to explain how primary elections work. Explain that primary elections are an important way to decide what the future of a party looks like. Also explain that some areas, especially urban areas, don’t have any Republicans on the ballot, so the primary elections decide who ends up winning the office.
This is a closed primary election. Help voters understand how to find the party they are registered with, and help independent voters understand how to navigate the voting process.
Although turnout is lower in primary elections, many voters still seek helpful information to help them navigate these big and complex elections. Focusing on providing useful information to voters is a great way to build a positive relationship. These highly-engaged voters usually make great volunteers for General Election work.
Primary and local elections offer a great opportunity for registering voters and testing new field strategies, before the General Election.
November 5th General Election
This is the big one!
Key dates
Filing Deadline: August 1, 2024 (last day for candidates to withdraw is August 8, 2024)
Voter Registration Deadline: October 21, 2024
Last day for early voting: Early voting window varies by county, contact your County Election Officials for more information
Last day to request mail-in or absentee ballot: October 29, 2024 (ballots must be received by 8pm November 5 or by November 12 for military and overseas ballots)
Election Date: November 5, 2024
Source: Pennsylvania Department of State
What’s on the ballot:
US President
US Senator
US House of Representatives (17 seats)
Pennsylvania State Senate
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Attorney General
Auditor General
Treasurer
Source: Ballotpedia
Messaging & strategy considerations:
Although the field is not set, most sources anticipate a Biden/Trump match up at the top of the ticket. This may pose a huge problem for voter apathy and turnout. Check out our article, which outlines strategies for using state and local elections to energize an apathetic voter base.
Helping voters navigate complexity
Elections are complicated. And if they’re complicated for people in the organizing world, they’re even more complicated for voters.
Here are some thorny areas that you’ll have to help voters navigate:
Voters need to know which districts they live in to understand who their candidates are. They might know their Congressional district, but they likely won’t know which SBOE District, Judicial Districts, State Legislative Districts, or County Precinct they live in.
Many voters will see over 20 offices and referendums on their ballot. Finding a way to summarize this information to encourage voter engagement and prevent ballot drop-off is key.
Voters may see over 50 candidates on their ballot (the Presidential and US Senator races have over 30 candidates). It’s important to help voters understand who these people are and who best aligns with their values.
The more of these confusion points that go unanswered, the less likely voters are to show up to vote (even if they are reminded about an election 10 times).
Personalized voter guides to improve GOTV outcomes
Voter education can be a thorny problem. Ballot Builder simplifies your voter education efforts.
Ballot Builder allows organizations to create personalized voter guides tailored to the specifics of each election. Utilize this tool to:
Generate voter guides that are personalized to voters based on their address.
Provide beginner-friendly, nonpartisan information on candidates and issues. This information is assembled by our team, which minimizes the lift for your team.
Create translated guides for Spanish and other key languages to engage underrepresented communities.
Visit ballot-builder.com to explore how Ballot Builder can revolutionize your outreach strategies. We understand the unique challenges nonprofits face in the election space and are dedicated to making your efforts more impactful.
For further details on Pennsylvania Elections, refer to the Pennsylvania Department of State Elections Page.