Thousands of mail-in ballots in Philadelphia could be rejected because of errors. Is yours one of them?
Thousands of returned mail ballots in Philadelphia might not be counted, according to data posted on the City Commissioner's website.
The regularly updated list includes names of voters whose ballots have been flagged for errors or because they were undeliverable.
Errors that will cause a ballot to be rejected include:
- Lacking a signature on the declaration envelope
- Lacking a date on the declaration envelope
- Having a potentially incorrect date
- Lacking a secrecy envelope
Mail ballots from voters whose identification cannot be verified are also flagged.
Officials say the county also uses a statewide system that automatically emails voters if there is a defect with their mail ballot. Several area counties utilize that state system to notify voters by email, while some also call or mail postcards.
But Beth Schmidt said she doesn't check her email regularly and didn't realize there was an issue with her returned ballot until she was contacted by CBS News Philadelphia because her name appeared on Philadelphia's public list.
"I had no idea about that until I got a call from Josh from CBS telling me that there was a list of people who had issues with their vote," Schmidt said.
Schmidt's ballot was flagged because it was missing a signature on the envelope. CBS News Philadelphia met her at the satellite election office near her home in Northeast Philly when she went to correct the issue.
Aside from a 25-minute wait to get inside, Schmidt said the process was straightforward.
"They sit you in front of the computer, they take your information, take your ID, and get you a new [ballot] to fill out and that takes less than 10 minutes," she said.
Because of a patchwork of policies, how voters are notified and able to "cure" their ballots varies by county, according to an analysis by the nonprofit Spotlight PA. A few counties in the commonwealth don't notify voters or allow for curing.
Voters in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware each can use their state's respective election website to check whether their mail ballot has been received. You can also reach out to your county election office to verify your ballot has been received and will be counted.
Election officials cannot begin processing mail-in votes in Pennsylvania until polls open at 7 a.m. on Election Day, according to state law, while tabulations cannot begin until after polls close.
