How to understand provisional ballots in Pennsylvania
What is a provisional ballot?
According to the Pennsylvania Department of State, a provisional ballot is a paper ballot that is used to protect the integrity of the election process and the rights by voters. The provisional ballot records one’s vote and the county board of elections determines whether it can be counted. In addition, provisional ballots may be issued at the polling place until the close of polls on election day absent a court order extending voting hours. There are many situations that require voting using a provisional ballot, including when an individual cannot be located in either the poll books or the supplemental poll book pages that contain the voter registration information for all eligible voters in a division. If you are a first-time voter who does not provide ID at the polls on Election Day, you will be offered a provisional ballot.
What happens to your vote if you’re given a provisional ballot?
Generally, if a voter is not eligible to be issued a regular ballot, that voter is entitled to vote provisionally at the polling place. Within 7 days of the election, the county board of elections will decide whether one is eligible to vote at the election district where they voted the provisional ballot. All valid votes cast via provisional ballot are included in the Certified Election Results, and therefore have the same impact as votes cast on the voting machines.
When can you expect provisional ballots to be counted?
The 2002 federal Help America Vote Act required states to offer provisional ballots. The Help America Vote Act requires states to develop a process for issuing, investigating and counting provisional ballots, including a process by which the voter can learn if his or her ballot was counted and the reasoning behind that decision. Provisional ballots are handled differently as they established statewide procedures for when to issue and count provisional ballots, rather than relying on local interpretations and federal influence. In Pennsylvania, you can find out if your provisional ballot counted, partially counted, or did not count beginning seven days after the election. If your provisional ballot was not counted, you can find out why by:
- Searching for your provisional ballot online
- Calling 1-877-VOTESPA.
What are some reasons that your provisional ballot is rejected or not counted?
Once the provisional ballot has been investigated, the election officials will either accept the ballot and count all or part of it or reject the ballot and not count it. According to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission the most common reasons for rejection of a provisional ballot are:
(1) the voter was not registered
(2) the voter cast a provisional ballot in the wrong jurisdiction
(3) the vote was cast in the wrong precinct
(4) the voter lacked the required ID or did not provide the proper ID within the allotted time after Election Day as described above
(5) the provisional ballot was incomplete, or the ballot or envelope was illegible
(6) the voter had already voted in that election
(7) there was no signature on the provisional ballot or the ballot envelope
In Pennsylvania, a provisional ballot is rejected or accepted when:
- If the board of elections determines that the elector has knowingly voted in an improper elections district, the board of elections may declare the ballot to be invalid. However, absent a determination of willfulness by the elector, the board should dispose of the provisional ballot as a ballot cast in the proper county but at an improper election district and count the ballot as to those offices for which, and questions on which, the elector was qualified to vote.
Check this website for more information about your specific state and election results tomorrow.
Updates: 11/4/20 9:30pm
Nearly 24 hours after the polls closed in Pennslyvania, according to Pennsylvania State Department data reviewed by ABC News, these counties account for over 180,000 of the requested mail-in ballots — out of potentially 3,098,947 total requested ballots in Pennsylvania. Philadelphia City Commissioner Al Schmidt said on CNN that Pennsylvania allows mail-in votes to be received and counted up until Friday. In addition, the Department of State website currently says just under 59% of mail-in ballots have been tallied so far, resulting in state election officials in the counties where ballots were still outstanding to urge patience while the results are still being calculated. In addition to the vote-counting conundrum, Pennsylvania also still could face a Supreme Court case after the election, in which the court may end up ruling that ballots postmarked before Nov. 3 but received after Election Day are invalid.
11/5/20 11:00am
According to Live Election Coverage by CNN, crucial swing county, Bucks County , north of Philadelphia, has reported that they still have 28,000 ballots left to count as of the morning of Thursday, November 5th. In a press statement from Public Information Officer, Larry King said that “The number of mail-in ballots is also expected to increase slightly as county officials continue to count ballots received on Election Day and through Friday’s deadline for receiving ballots in the mail.”
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