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Drop boxes are open throughout Philadelphia to collect your completed mail ballots for the 2023 municipal primary.
The May 16 election features the hotly contested mayoral race with nine candidates, eight of them for the Democratic primary nomination alone. But other hugely consequential races include the entire City Council slate, city commissioner, city controller, register of wills, sheriff, and judge openings in several courts. There are also four ballot questions up for approval or rejection. (Check out the Billy Penn Procrastinator’s Guide for all the details.)
Still planning to apply for your mail ballot? Tuesday, May 9 is the deadline, and you can do it online here.
You can also request a mail ballot in person at Philadelphia City Hall. Registered voters can go to the Board of Elections office in Room 140 and apply, vote on, and return a ballot all in the same visit. The office is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
If you already have your ballot, you should fill it out, seal it in two envelopes, sign the back, date it, and then return it.
Ballots must be received by election officials by the time the polls close: 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 16. They can be sent back via U.S. mail, but to ensure your ballot arrives in a timely fashion, you can take it by hand to one of 18 drop boxes across the city. (See map below.)
You can use any drop box — you don’t have to go to one in your voting division — but you can’t drop off someone else’s ballot for them (unless you fill out this paperwork first).
You can also return your voted and sealed ballot at one of the City Commissioners’ staffed mobile drop-off events — see below for locations and dates.
Ballot drop boxes accessible 24/7
Each drop-off location is monitored by round-the-clock security cameras, per the Office of City Commissioners.
- City Hall (South Broad apron): 1400 John F Kennedy Blvd, 19107
- Riverview Place (Columbus Boulevard side of the building): 520 N. Columbus Blvd., 19123
- Corporal Jimmy O’Connor Memorial Playground (fka Chalfont Playground): 4382 Deerpath Lane, 19154
- Dorothy Emanuel Rec. Center: 8500 Pickering St., 19150
- Eastern State Penitentiary: 2027 Fairmount Ave., 19130
- Ford PAL Rec Center: 609 Snyder Ave., 19148
- Independence Branch Library: 18 S 7th St., 19106
- Kendrick Rec Center: 5822 Ridge Ave., 19128
- Kingsessing Rec Center: 4901 Kingsessing Ave, 19143
- Markward Playground: 400 S Taney St., 19146
- Pelbano Rec Center: 8101 Bustleton Ave., 19152
- Pleasant Playground: 6757 Chew Ave., 19119
- Shepard Rec Center: 5700 Haverford Ave., 19131
- Shissler Rec Center: 1800 Blair St., 19125
- Smith Playground: 2100 S 24th St, 19145
- Stenton Playground: 4600 N 16th St., 19140
- Vogt Rec Center: 4131 Unruh Ave., 19135
- Board of Elections warehouse: 11311 Roosevelt Blvd., 19154
Mobile ballot drop-off locations accessible at select times
Each drop-off location is staffed by personnel from the Board of Elections, per the Office of City Commissioners.
Friday, 5/5:
- McMichael Park, 3299 Midvale Ave. (1-4 p.m.)
- Olney Recreation Center, 100 E. Godfrey Ave. (1-4 p.m.)
Saturdays (5/6, 5/13):
- Julia De Burgos Elementary, 401 W. Lehigh Ave. (1-4 p.m.)
Saturday, 5/6:
- Alain Locke School, 4550 Haverford Ave. (9 a.m.-12 p.m.)
- Bartram High School, 2401 S. 67th St. (9 a.m.-12 p.m.)
- Temple Mitten Hall, 1913 N. Broad St. (1-4 p.m.)
Sundays (5/7, 5/14):
- Julia De Burgos Elementary, 401 W. Lehigh Ave. (1-4 p.m.)
Sunday, 5/7:
- J. Hampton Moore School, 6900 Summerdale Ave. (9 a.m.-12 p.m.)
- Bridesburg Recreation Center, 4625. Richmond St. (9 a.m.-12 p.m.)
- C.C.A. Baldi Middle School, 8801 Verree Rd. (1-4 p.m.)
Friday, 5/12:
- Water Tower Recreation Center, 209 E. Hartwell Ln. (1-4 p.m.)
- 29th & Chalmers Playground, 29th Street & Chalmers Avenue (1-4 p.m.)
Saturday, 5/13:
- China Gourmet Restaurant, 2842 St. Vincent St. (9 a.m.-12 p.m.)
- Shawmont Elementary School, 535 Shawmont Ave. (9 a.m.-12 p.m.)
- Overbrook Elementary School, 2032 N. 62nd St. (1-4 p.m.)
Sunday, 5/14:
- Feltonville Intermediate School, 238 E. Wyoming Ave. (9 a.m.-12 p.m.)
- Washington High School, 10175 Bustleton Ave. (9 a.m.-12 p.m.)
- John Anderson Cultural Center, 5301 Overbrook Ave. (1-4 p.m.)
Monday, 5/15:
- Lincoln Financial Field, Lot K, Pattison Avenue between 11th and Darien (10 a.m.-2 p.m.)
- CFCF, 7901 State Rd (4-6 p.m.)
