Nearly 16,000 mail ballots were rejected in Pennsylvania in April. That could be a larger number in November. [View all]

[RandySF]

Voting rights groups are preparing voter education campaigns and encouraging local officials to minimize the number of ballots rejected in November after thousands of mail ballots couldn’t be counted last month.

The ballots are rejected for a variety of reasons — some are improperly filled out, others don’t make it to an election office before polls closed at 8 p.m. on Election Day.

Nearly 16,000 ballots fell into that category during the April primary. The number represented an improvement on previous years, something state officials attributed to a redesigned mail ballot. But it is still a significant number of votes that could determine the outcome of down ballot races in a higher-turnout general election while sowing distrust in the high-stakes presidential election.

While litigation remains pending on the state’s mail voting law, voting rights groups are calling for all 67 Pennsylvania counties to implement a “notice and cure” policy that gives voters a chance to fix their ballot before the election.





https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/pennsylvania-mail-in-ballots-rejected-20240521.html