Voter registration for the Pennsylvania Democratic primary ends March 24, the first day of classes after spring break.

Unlike in Ohio, Pennsylvania voters must register as Democrats before the April 22 election in order to participate in the primary. March 24 is also the deadline to switch or join parties.

Kent State has more than 900 students from Pennsylvania, according to the office of Research Planning and Institutional Effectiveness. This is the largest amount of students from any state other than Ohio.

Students from Pennsylvania who are going home for spring break can register at their county’s voter registration office or print a registration form from the state’s voter services Web site at https://www.pavoterservices.state.pa.us.

If students are registered voters in Pennsylvania but will be in Kent on Election Day, they can request an absentee ballot.

Absentee ballot applications, which are available on the voter services Web site, are due April 15, said Mary Lou Filsinger, senior administrative assistant at the Allegheny County Division of Elections in Pennsylvania. Once the application is approved and ballots are available, they will be sent to the address provided.

With 158 delegates at stake in the primary, the election could determine whether Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton is the party’s presidential nominee. Obama currently leads with 1,602 delegates, including superdelegates. Clinton trails with 1,497, according to The Associated Press count. It takes 2,025 delegates to seal the nomination.

Contact public affairs reporter Timothy Magaw at [email protected].