Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt certified the official list of candidates for the Nov. 5 general election Sept. 16 after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court resolved all pending cases involving third-party candidates.

“Counties can now prepare their ballots to be printed, then begin sending mail ballots to voters who have requested one as soon as they are printed,” Schmidt said in a news release.

Now that the ballot is certified, the department’s online candidate database reflects the official candidate list for all races.

In addition, to help voters and the media track when each county has its ballots available, the department created an online mail ballot availability page.

Once ballots are printed and available, registered Pennsylvania voters can go to their county election office, apply for a mail ballot, complete it and submit it all in one visit until Oct. 29, which is the deadline to apply for a mail ballot.

Registered voters can also request a mail ballot online or via a paper application, which they can then mail in or drop off at their county election office.

Completed mail ballots must be returned to county election offices by 8 p.m. on Election Day.

For more information about voting and elections in Pennsylvania, visit vote.pa.gov.