What Is A Provisional Ballot And How Is It Counted

A provisional ballot is a vote that needs more verification usually surrounding a voter s eligibility that must be resolved before it can be counted.

What is a provisional ballot and how is it counted. The sealed box of ballots goes to the sheriff s office after the. The 2 be counted team answers questions about provisional ballots including their purpose and why voters may have to fill one out. Others require that provisional ballots be put in the ballot box as soon as possible. Some states dictate who may or must be present when provisional ballots are counted.

Provisional ballots are never mixed in with regular ballots. Usually the majority of provisional ballots are. Provisional ballots which are specially marked are intended to prevent disenfranchisement. In elections in the united states a provisional ballot is used to record a vote when there are questions about a given voter s eligibility that must be resolved before the vote can count.

Elections code sections 14310 14311 15350 and 15100 15112. Sometimes county elections officials need more time to determine a voter s eligibility to vote. No provisional ballot is counted or precluded from being counted until the elections official goes through the detailed process to determine whether a voter s provisional ballot should be counted. Skip navigation share on facebook.

A provisional ballot records your vote while the county board of elections determines whether it can be counted. Election officials may ask that voter to vote a provisional ballot. Provisional ballots are a fail safe voting process to make sure. That depends on the state or locality and on the circumstances of each provisional ballot.

If election officials later determine that a person who cast a provisional ballot is in fact eligible their provisional ballot is counted just like a normal one. Are provisional ballots counted. The first meeting of the electoral board to review provisional ballots is the day after election day and the process must be concluded within. What is a provisional ballot.

The federal help america vote act of 2002 guarantees that in most states the voter can cast a provisional ballot if the voter states that they are entitled to vote. The provisional vote information sheets are collected separately from the provisional ballots which go into the sealed box.