What Is A Provisional Ballot In An Election

A local supervisor of elections explains why some people will have to a fill out different kind of ballot when they get to the polls.

What is a provisional ballot in an election. On election day some voters may be more prepared than others. 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. 8 56 am est november 2 2020. If you have yet to turn in your ballot there are still ways to exercise your civic right.

23abc s kristin vartan has a look at how. A provisional ballot goes in an envelope and not in the actual machine on election day. A provisional ballot still allows you to cast your vote in an election but there are a few strings attached. You would cast a provisional ballot for a few reasons such as forgetting your id or if you need to register but don t have proof of residency.

The point of provisional ballots is to be able to give voters who think that a mistake was made about their eligibility the opportunity to cast a ballot that will count while at the same time giving elections administrators a chance to look at their records and make an assessment on whether there was eligibility said myrna pérez director of the new york based brennan center s. Provisional ballots go into a separate sealed box and are not tabulated on election day.