A new report A study by Common Cause Pennsylvania and the ACLU of Pennsylvania found that voter notification and correction policies are significantly more effective in helping voters vote by mail than simply relying on the availability of provisional ballots.
Pennsylvania county election boards could adopt policies that allow voters to “fix” errors such as missing signatures or missing security envelopes in mail-in ballot return envelopes. Counties that are most proactive in notifying voters of errors and offering opportunities for correction have much higher mail-in ballot acceptance rates than counties that do not.
Although a recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling requires county election boards to notify voters if their mail-in ballot is rejected, there is still no uniform process for informing voters or resolving the issues that led to the rejection. This new report clearly shows that some solutions have higher success rates than others.
For example, Allegheny County, which automatically returns rejected ballots with instructions on how to correct them, had a 70% correction rate. By comparison, Berks County, which notifies voters only through its online absentee ballot tracking system, had a 22% correction rate.
“Every voter has the constitutional right to make their voice heard and this right should not be taken away due to administrative challenges” said Philip Hensley-Robin, executive director of Common Cause Pennsylvania. “”But because of our current patchwork of ballot correction policies, whether it’s easy to fix a mistake and make sure your ballot is counted or nearly impossible depends on which county you live in. Our report has the solutions: policies that ensure ballots are corrected and Pennsylvanians are heard. We plan to travel the state and make our case to county officials to make it easy and convenient for voters to ensure their ballots are counted.”
““Expanded mail-in voting has opened the door for more Pennsylvanians to participate in our democracy,” he said Kate Steiker-Ginzberg, voting rights attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania. “But to truly deliver on this promise, we must close the gaps that prevent valid votes from being counted. Counties have a responsibility to support voters and ensure that no one is denied the right to vote because of small paperwork errors. Our new relationship with Common Cause provides a clear assessment of the most effective notification and correction programs across the state, and we encourage all counties to adopt policies that protect Pennsylvania voters and strengthen confidence in our elections.”“
The report takes an in-depth look at the policies counties use to inform voters and resolve problems, as well as the varying success rates of their ballot correction procedures. Counties that automatically return defective ballots to voters or automatically void and reissue mail-in ballots have the highest acceptance rate. In contrast, counties that rely solely on consulting the State Department’s website to track ballots have the worst acceptance rates. The report also addresses the issue of how some counties fail to comply with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling requiring them to notify voters of voided ballots before Election Day.
Both Common Cause Pennsylvania and the ACLU-PA plan to contact and attend elections commission meetings to advocate for policies that help voters fix ballots.
To view the report, click here.
