A new report released by Common Cause Pennsylvania and the ACLU of Pennsylvania finds that proactive notice and cure policies help more voters successfully cast mail-in ballots than simply relying on provisional ballots. The study examines how counties across the state notify voters about mistakes, such as missing signatures or security envelopes, in their mail-in ballot packets.
The report shows that counties with robust notification and curing procedures have higher rates of accepted mail-in ballots. For example, Allegheny County automatically returns rejected ballots to voters with instructions on how to fix them, resulting in a 70 percent cure rate. In contrast, Berks County only notifies voters through an online tracking system and has a 22 percent cure rate.
A recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision requires county boards of elections to notify voters if their mail-in ballot is rejected. However, there is still no standardized process for notifying voters or resolving the issues leading to rejection. The report highlights that some approaches are more effective than others at helping ballots get counted.
Philip Hensley-Robin, Executive Director of Common Cause Pennsylvania, stated: “Every voter has a constitutional right to have their voice heard and that right shouldn’t be taken away because of administrative challenges. But because of our current patchwork of ballot curing policies, whether it’s easy to correct an error and make sure your ballot counts or nearly impossible to do so depends on the county you live in. Our report has the solutions; policies which make sure ballots are cured and Pennsylvanians are heard. We plan to travel the state and make our case to county officials and make it easy and convenient for voters to ensure their ballots count.”
Kate Steiker-Ginzberg, Voting Rights Fellowship Attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, added: “Expanded mail-in voting opened the door for more Pennsylvanians to participate in our democracy. But to truly fulfill this promise, we must address the gaps that prevent eligible votes from being counted. Counties have a responsibility to support voters and ensure that no one is denied their right to vote because of minor paperwork mistakes. Our new report with Common Cause provides a clear evaluation of the most effective notice and cure programs across the state, and we encourage all counties to adopt policies that protect Pennsylvania voters and strengthen confidence in our elections.”
The organizations intend to attend local election board meetings across Pennsylvania’s 67 counties advocating for better ballot curing practices.
Common Cause Pennsylvania is a nonpartisan group focused on accountable governance statewide. It works on reforms related to voting rights and election integrity while promoting civil rights and liberties through equitable governance initiatives (https://www.commoncause.org/pennsylvania/). The organization also advocates for measures reducing money’s influence in politics, strengthening ethics standards, collaborating with officials from various backgrounds, empowering communities across all counties (https://www.commoncause.org/pennsylvania/), engaging over 36,000 members statewide (https://www.commoncause.org/pennsylvania/), building inclusive democracy (https://www.commoncause.org/pennsylvania/), mobilizing residents for representation equity (https://www.commoncause.org/pennsylvania/), and fostering public transparency (https://www.commoncause.org/pennsylvania/).
To view the full report from Common Cause Pennsylvania and ACLU-PA, visit their website.
