Philadelphia Posts Its Flawed Ballot List and Tells Voters How to Fix Them

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Board of Elections has posted its running list of mail ballots that may not count in the Nov. 3 general election, and is urging affected voters to fix the problems now.

The list, last updated Oct. 13 and published on the City Commissioners’ website, covers ballots with unverifiable identification, ballots returned as undeliverable and ballots flagged as potentially flawed, which can mean a missing signature on the declaration envelope or a missing secrecy envelope.

Voters whose identification could not be verified must submit proof of ID by Monday, Nov. 9, or the board cannot count their ballot. They can email a photo of an acceptable ID to the elections office, fax it, or visit a satellite election office for in-person help.

Voters with other flaws have options too. They can request a replacement ballot online or in person at a satellite office, or go to their polling place on Election Day and cast a provisional ballot, according to Democracy Docket’s summary of the city’s procedures.

The city also emails voters directly when their ballot has an error, and the public list lets campaigns and voting-rights groups reach people the emails miss.

Philadelphia’s cure rate has been among the strongest in the state. A Common Cause study found 52 percent of flawed ballots in Philadelphia were successfully cured, roughly matching the top counties statewide.

The list is updated regularly, and voters whose problems are resolved are removed from it. Anyone who requested a mail ballot can check its status through the state’s voter services site.

With the deadline to apply for a mail ballot set for 5 p.m. on Oct. 27, election officials say the sooner voters check, the more time they have to fix mistakes.