TrustVoting Atlas

(a) The papers, cards or strips, enclosed within the ballot
frame or frames of any voting machine, and containing the names
of a candidate or candidates, or political party, or the
statement of a question to be voted upon, hereinafter referred
to as ballot labels, shall be printed in black ink, upon clear
white material, of such size as will fit the ballot frame, and
in plain clear type so as to be easily readable by persons with
normal vision.
   (b) If the construction of the machine shall require it,
the ballot label for each candidate, group of candidates,
political party, or question, to be voted on, shall bear the
designating letter or number of the counter on the voting
machine which will register or record votes therefor. Each
question to be voted on shall appear on the ballot labels, in
brief form, of not more than seventy-five words, to be
determined by the Secretary of the Commonwealth in the case of
constitutional amendments or other questions to be voted on by
the electors of the State at large, and by the county election
board in other cases.
   (c) The ballot label for each candidate or group of
candidates, nominated or seeking nomination by a political
party, shall contain the name or designation of the political
party.
   (d) The titles of offices may be arranged horizontally or
vertically, with the names of candidates for an office arranged
transversely under or opposite the title of the office. Under
the title of such offices where more than one candidate is to
be voted for, shall be printed "Vote for not more than ........"

(the blank space to indicate the number of candidates to be
voted for the particular office.) ((d) amended Dec. 2, 1976,
P.L.1221, No.269)
   (e) The names of all candidates, nominated or seeking
nomination by a political party, shall appear in adjacent rows
or columns containing generally the names of candidates
nominated or seeking nomination by such party, provided that
the names of individual candidates for presidential elector
shall not appear upon the ballot labels, but, in lieu thereof,
the names of the candidates of said party for President and
Vice-President shall be printed on a single ballot label,
together with the name of said party.
   (f) When the same person has been nominated for the same
office by more than one political party, his name shall appear
in the rows or columns containing generally, the names of
candidates nominated by each such party, his position in such
rows or columns to be determined by the number of votes he
received at the primary in the party entitled to priority on
the ballot as determined by the votes obtained in the State at
the last gubernatorial election by the candidate for Governor.
   (g) The form and arrangement of ballot labels shall be
prepared by the county election board. ((g) amended Sept. 29,
1951, P.L.1571, No.404)
   (h) The names of all candidates of a political party shall
appear in the same row or column, and except in cases of names
of presidential commitments of nominees for delegate or
alternate delegate to political party National conventions no
other names shall appear in the same row or column. Where the
names of the delegate or alternate delegate and the presidential
candidate he is supporting shall both appear, the print size
of the name of the delegate or alternate delegate shall be equal
to the size of the name of the particular presidential candidate
to whom he is committed, or in the case where he is uncommitted,
the word "uncommitted" shall appear in the same size print. The
names of such candidates shall be arranged under or opposite
the title of the office for which they are candidates, and shall
appear in the order of the votes obtained by the candidate for
Governor of the party nominated at the last gubernatorial
election, beginning with the party obtaining the highest number
of votes: Provided, however, That in the case of parties or
bodies not represented on the ballot at the last gubernatorial
election, the names of the candidates of such parties shall be
arranged alphabetically, according to the party or body name.
The names of all candidates of a political body shall appear
in the same row or column, and, if the number of parties and
bodies permits, each political body shall be entitled
exclusively to a separate row or column. If, however, the number
of political parties and political bodies renders it impossible
or impracticable to so arrange the political bodies, in such
case said bodies shall not be entitled to a separate row or
column, but shall be listed by political appellations on the
first left hand or top row, with the designating letter and
number of the ballot label where their candidates may be found,
together with the political appellations of other political
bodies, whose candidates may be interspersed on the same row
or column. Subject to the aforesaid limitations, the form and
arrangement of ballot labels, as to the placing thereon of
political bodies, shall be within the discretion of the county
board. ((h) amended Oct. 31, 2019, P.L.552, No.77)
   (i) In primary elections, the ballot labels, containing the
names of candidates seeking nomination by a political party,
shall be segregated on the face of the machine in adjacent rows

or columns by parties, the priority of such political parties
on the ballot labels to be determined in the same manner as
provided for determining priority on paper ballots in section
1003 (f) herein.
   (j) In primary elections, if it shall be impossible or
impracticable to place on the ballot labels of one machine the
names of all candidates seeking nomination in all political
parties, the county election board may arrange for each election
district the names of the candidates on separate voting
machines: Provided, however, That the names of all the
candidates seeking nomination in any one political party shall
appear on one machine.
   (k) Except as hereinafter provided in primary elections
where there are a sufficient number of ballot frames on one row
or column to accommodate all the candidates of a political
party, the names of all the candidates shall appear on that row
or column in the order that was established under the provisions
of sections 915 and 916 of this act. Where there are four or
more candidates for a particular office, the names of the
candidates may be divided between the rows or columns as equally
as possible so long as the order as provided in sections 915
and 916 is maintained. ((k) added Aug. 8, 1963, P.L.614, No.322)
   (l) At the written request of a State committee, filed with
the party rules and on the deadline prescribed by section 808.1
of this act, a party may have a "no preference" column added
to the list of candidates for the office of President of the
United States at the primary election. The ballot position for
"no preference" shall be drawn in the same manner as the other
candidates for that office: Provided, however, That this
position shall be drawn by the Secretary of the Commonwealth
or his or her designee. ((l) added July 21, 1979, P.L.189,
No.63)
   (m) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a
county election board may, to avoid voter confusion, provide
for the use of a color scheme to identify all the candidates
for a specific office. ((m) added Dec. 17, 1990, P.L.681,
No.169)
   (1110 amended Apr. 24, 1947, P.L.68, No.33)