Pennsylvania officials on Monday revealed a redesigned provisional-ballot envelope aimed at reducing ballot rejections due to technical errors. The initiative, led by the Department of State, follows a similar redesign of mail ballot envelopes that helped cut rejection rates by 57% in 2023.
The new envelope clarifies where voters and poll workers must sign and clearly separates the required sections, making the process easier to follow. Provisional ballots are used when a voter’s eligibility is in question, such as when a mail voter appears in person without surrendering their original ballot.
Philadelphia, which collaborated on the redesign, plans to implement the change for its November elections. Counties such as Mercer, Berks, Greene, and Butler were also consulted. Adoption remains optional, but the state is offering financial incentives.
In 2024, nearly 100,000 provisional ballots were cast—up from 26,000 in 2016—and more than 4,800 were rejected due to affidavit errors. These envelope mistakes ranked second among rejection reasons, just behind unregistered voters.
Election officials attribute the spike in errors to poor poll worker training and voter confusion. Mercer County’s election director said the new format is far more intuitive than the “lawyer-designed” previous version and expects widespread adoption in coming years.
Sources:
News From the States – MBFC Rating
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