Voting sign at Hill Presbyterian Church in Butler.

Mail-in ballots have started returning to the county Bureau of Elections, county commissioners said Wednesday.

Commissioner Kevin Boozel said the county has mailed more than 10,000 ballots to Butler County registered voters who requested a mail-in ballot for the May 17 primary election.

Those approximately 10,000 ballots mailed to eligible voters represent roughly one-third of the mail-in and absentee votes cast in the 2020 presidential election, but about the same as the 9,721 mail votes tabulated in the most recent municipal election in November 2021.

Voters who are interested in obtaining a mail-in ballot still have time to request one. Applications for mail-in and absentee ballots will be accepted until 5 p.m. May 10 at the county elections office.

Interested voters may request a ballot online on the state’s website, via mail to the county elections office or in person at the Butler County Bureau of Elections. Those applying via mail or in-person must use a state-promulgated form, available on the county website and at the elections office.

Those who apply for a mail-in ballot in person may also submit their ballot the same day.

Mail-in and absentee ballots will be counted only if they are received at the elections bureau by 8 p.m. on primary election day, May 17. Unlike in the 2020 presidential election, postmarks will not suffice, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State.

Butler County does not have any mail-in ballot “drop boxes,” unlike some other counties in Pennsylvania. Mail-in and absentee ballots must either be sent via the U.S. Postal Service to the county elections office, or physically brought to the office from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, or until 8 p.m. on primary election day.

Leigh M. Chapman, Pennsylvania’s acting secretary of state, reminded voters Tuesday of important steps they must take for their mailed ballots to be tabulated. The ballot must be fully enclosed and sealed in the inner security envelope marked “official election ballot,” the inner security envelope must be inside the outer pre-addressed envelope and the voter must sign and date the declaration on the outer envelope.