HARRISBURG — On May 19, Democrats and Republicans across Pennsylvania will decide which candidates from their respective parties will go on to run in the November general election.
On the ballot are the governor and lieutenant governor, along with the entire Pennsylvania House and half of the state Senate. All of Pennsylvania’s 17 congressional districts will also be up for election. Across the state, there might also be local ballot questions.
To help you prepare for the 2026 primary in Pennsylvania, we’ve answered some of your most frequently asked questions below:
When is the 2026 primary Election Day in Pennsylvania?
Tuesday, May 19, 2026. Mark your calendar!
When do polls open for Pennsylvania’s 2026 election?
Polls open at 7 a.m and close at 8 p.m. As long as you are in line to vote by 8 p.m., you are entitled to cast a ballot.
When is the last day to register to vote?
The last day to register is May 4.
You can register online here, or submit a registration form in person or through the mail to your county election office by the same date. Online voter registration applications must be received by that day.
How can I check my voter registration?
You can check your registration here. You can search using your name, county, ZIP code, and birthday, or by entering your driver’s license or PennDOT identification card numbers.
How do I change parties?
To change your party affiliation, fill out the same voter registration form that you used to register the first time.
When filling out the form, select the box that says “change of party.” If you do this less than 15 days before the election (May 4), the party change will not take place until the next election cycle.
I’m a registered independent. Can I vote on May 19?
In Pennsylvania, if you are registered as an independent or with a third party, you cannot vote for candidates in the primary election. Pennsylvania is one of eight states that has a closed primary system, meaning only registered Democrats and Republicans can vote in their respective party's primary.
If you wish to participate in a specific party's primary, you must change your affiliation to that party before the registration deadline.
Unaffiliated and third-party voters can participate in special elections that coincide with the primary; they can also vote on statewide constitutional amendments and local ballot initiatives.
How do I find my polling place?
You can find your polling place here by entering your address.
What else do I need to know to vote in person?
If this is your first time voting or your first time voting since changing addresses, you’ll need to bring proof of identification. This can be a government-issued ID, such as a driver’s license or U.S. passport; a utility bill or bank statement that includes your name and address; or a U.S. military or student ID. See the full list of options here.
Can I still request a mail ballot?
You can apply for a mail ballot until May 12, either online or through the mail. However, your complete application must be received by your county’s election office by 5 p.m. that day.
Here’s the application. You’ll need to provide your name, date of birth, proof of identification, and signature.
How do I vote absentee?
The process to request an absentee ballot is similar to that for requesting a mail ballot. You can apply online or download the form and send it to your county election office. However, the application requires you to list a reason for your absence, unlike a mail ballot. You can find the application here.
Applications are due May 12 by 5 p.m. and must be received by your county office by that time.
If you miss the May 12 deadline, you can still request an emergency absentee ballot from your county election office if you experience an unexpected illness, disability, or last-minute absence. You can request one here.
I applied but still haven’t gotten my absentee or mail ballot. What should I do?
You can check the status of your absentee or mail ballot here. If you’re worried your ballot won’t arrive with enough time to return it, you can call your county election office for advice on how to proceed.
You can also go to your county election office to request a ballot and fill it out on the spot, or go to your polling place and vote in person on Election Day — though if you applied for a mail ballot and don’t have it in hand, you may need to vote in person using a provisional ballot.
I’ve received my absentee or mail ballot. How do I return it?
First, make sure you’ve filled it out completely and followed all instructions, including dating the ballot envelope properly. Otherwise, your ballot may not be counted.
Everyone can return their ballot through the mail or by dropping it off at their county election office. Some counties also have drop boxes available. Find county contact information here.
Your county election office must receive your ballot by 8 p.m. on Election Day. Postmarks do not count.
If you have a disability that prevents you from returning your own ballot, you may fill out a form to designate someone else to return it for you. Make a copy of the completed form and give the original to your designated agent. The designee must have the form on hand when they return your ballot.
Otherwise, you must return your own ballot.
Which races will I be voting on?
Democrats and Republicans will cast votes for their parties’ candidates across races for governor, lieutenant governor, state House and Senate, and the U.S. House of Representatives.
The winners of each primary will face each other during the Nov. 3 general election.
Governor
At the top of the ballot this election is the governor’s race — though neither party officially has a contested May primary.
Pennsylvania’s governor oversees a vast network of state agencies responsible for everything from education to human services to prisons. The governor is also in charge of creating and submitting an annual state budget to the General Assembly, and has the power to make emergency declarations, sign executive orders, and approve or veto legislation passed by state lawmakers.
Incumbent Gov. Josh Shapiro was elected to the role in 2022 and is seeking a second term in office. He is expected to face Republican state Treasurer Stacy Garrity in the November general election.
Shapiro is a relatively moderate Democrat open to across-the-aisle dealmaking, though that hasn’t prevented serious negotiating breakdowns with the Republican-controlled state Senate during his first term. He’s also considered politically ambitious, and is reportedly positioning himself to run for president in 2028.
He entered Pennsylvania politics with a successful 2004 run for state House. He was elected in 2011 to the Board of Commissioners in his native Montgomery County, then won the race for Pennsylvania attorney general in 2016.
You can read more about Shapiro, what he’s done as governor during his first term and more in our candidate guide.
State Treasurer Stacy Garrity is the sole Republican candidate in the primary, though a write-in campaign for state Sen. Doug Mastriano (R., Franklin) is in the works.
Elected in 2020, Garrity is in her second term as treasurer. The role is the Bradford County native’s first in politics — Garrity spent much of her career in manufacturing and is a decorated veteran, deploying three times between 1991 and 2008: in Operation Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom. She received two Bronze Stars and the Legion of Merit award. She retired as a U.S. Army Reserve colonel.
As treasurer, Garrity, a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump, primarily stewards state dollars, returns unclaimed property, and administers savings programs. But she has periodically waded into politics, too. She increased state investments in Israel following the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, for instance, and inserted the Treasury Department into last year’s budget impasse by offering loans to counties and other entities that had their state funding frozen.
You can read more about Garrity, what she’s done as treasurer and her stance on various issues in our candidate guide.
Lieutenant governor
In Pennsylvania, candidates for lieutenant governor must run for the role in the primary separately from gubernatorial candidates, though they can team up and campaign together as a ticket if they choose.
The lieutenant governor’s responsibilities include presiding over the state Senate, where they also have the power to cast tie-breaking votes in some situations. The person in the role chairs the Board of Pardons and is involved in several state entities, including the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Council. The lieutenant governor also succeeds the governor, should the governor be unable to finish his or her term for any reason.
The candidate for the Democratic Party is incumbent Austin Davis. Davis, who is from McKeesport in Allegheny County, is Pennsylvania’s first Black person to hold the role, and also the youngest in the country, according to his office.
Davis has been involved in politics since he was a teenager, when he launched a youth advisory council for the mayor of his hometown after a shooting near his home. He entered elected office in a 2018 special election for Pennsylvania’s 35th House District. He also served as vice chair of the Allegheny County Democratic Committee before resigning, and ran for lieutenant governor with Shapiro’s support in 2022.
Throughout his time as lieutenant governor, Davis has made gun violence prevention a central focus of his work, helping to increase funds for violence prevention programs and relaunching the Office of Gun Violence Prevention. Under his tenure as chair of the Board of Pardons, the board began to accept online applications.
You can read more about Davis in our lieutenant governor candidate guide here.
The candidates for the Republican Party are Jason Richey and John Ventre.
Richey is a construction, real estate, and commercial law attorney at a Pittsburgh-based firm, where he has worked for almost three decades and is a partner. Garrity formally backed his run for lieutenant governor in hopes of him becoming her running mate for the fall.
In 2022, he mounted a bid for governor but withdrew before the primary. He has said that “all the reasons” he ran for governor are still relevant this year. In particular, he has expressed a desire to expand Pennsylvania’s infrastructure to extract natural gas and says he wants to get rid of the state’s flat 3.07% income tax, saying on PCN, “I absolutely hate income tax.” Richey did not confirm whether cutting that tax would be a part of his and Garrity’s policy platform.
You can read more about Richey in our lieutenant governor candidate guide here.
John Ventre is running without endorsement from Garrity or the state GOP.
Ventre says he oversaw security, crisis management and public affairs at UPS in six states, including Pennsylvania, for more than thirty years. He is also a prominent UFO enthusiast — he hosted Pittsburgh’s annual UFO conference in April — and is an author whose novels cover topics including fictional accounts of UFO sightings, prophecies, and the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. He has never held public office, though he unsuccessfully ran twice for commissioner of Westmoreland County and once for governor.
You can read more about Ventre in our lieutenant governor candidate guide here.
General Assembly
The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the legislative branch of the commonwealth, and like Congress, it has a lower and upper chamber: the House of Representatives and the Senate. The state Senate consists of 50 members and the state House has 203, making it the largest full-time legislature in the country.
The General Assembly is mainly responsible for proposing and passing state laws, and developing the state budget.
There will be 228 state legislative races on the ballot this year — this includes all of Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives and half the state Senate.
You can read about the primary races with the biggest potential to shape the state House and Senate in our guide.
To learn how to evaluate legislative candidates who are on the ballot this primary election, check out our vetting guide.
To find who is running in your district, check your county election website for a sample ballot.
U.S. House
The U.S. House of Representatives is made up of 435 elected lawmakers. The number of members from each state is based on its population — Pennsylvania has 17 representatives.
Members of the U.S. House serve two-year terms and are up for reelection during even years.
All but one of 17 members of Pennsylvania’s U.S. House delegation seek reelection in 2026. Who is listed on your ballot will be dictated by the congressional district you live in.
To find out who represents your district, visit the U.S. House of Representatives lookup tool.
What else will be on my ballot?
There are no statewide ballot measures this year, but some voters may see local questions.
Philadelphia, for instance, will have multiple questions on its ballot, including one about whether the city should create and oversee a retirement savings program. In Pittsburgh, voters will be asked about whether the city should change the way it promotes public meetings.
Check with your county election office to confirm races and questions, and to view a sample ballot.
Learn more here about how Spotlight PA is covering the 2026 primary election.