With the primary election less than a month away, Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt reminds registered Pennsylvania voters who want to vote by mail that they have until May 13 to apply for their ballot for the primary election May 20.

“Voting by mail has become a popular, safe and secure option for Pennsylvanians to cast their ballots and make their voices heard,” Schmidt said.

To date, 692,919 mail ballot applications have been approved ahead of the May 20 primary, Schmidt said.

Mail ballot applications must be received by a voter’s county elections board by 5 p.m. May 13.

Upon receiving their mail ballot, voters should read all instructions enclosed with the ballot, fill out the ballot by following the instructions on how to mark selections, seal the ballot in the inner secrecy envelope marked “official election ballot,” seal the inner secrecy envelope in the outer return envelope and sign and write the current date on the outer return envelope.

Completed mail ballots must be received by a voter’s county elections office by 8 p.m. May 20.

Voters can request a mail ballot, complete it and return it in one visit to their county office until May 13.