Mercer County, Pa. - The Mercer County Board of Elections is now offering their precinct committee petition forms and candidate affidavits online, as "fillable PDF documents."

Local candidates are now able to complete portions of their petitions ahead of time before printing the form and taking it to the Board of Elections office for submission.

"We are pleased to provide this form online so that candidates will not have to travel to Mercer to pick up their petitions," Ann Coleman, chair of the Board of Elections said in a statement. "Petitions will still be available in the Election Office if candidates prefer to pick up a printed copy of the petition."

In order to submit the form to the Board of Elections, candidates must print it out on a standard 8.5" by 11" paper.  It also must be printed double-sided or copied as a double-sided form before circulating for signatures.

According to statements from the Mercer County Board of Elections, the online option will also reduce any difficulties staff have reading handwritten information. Anyone with questions on the new process is encouraged to call the Voter Registration & Elections office.

The petition gathering period for the 2026 election begins February 17. According to the Board of Elections, "candidates for the Democratic and Republican Party precinct committee positions will need to gather at least 10 signatures from registered members of their party who live in their voting precinct to qualify to be on the ballot."

After signatures are collected, the petitions and affidavits can be filed anytime between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Mercer County Election Office on 130 North Pitt St., Suite B, in Mercer.

Filings will be accepted until March 10.