There are several reasons a voter would be asked to vote provisionally, and most provisional ballots are counted. In the 2016 general election, nearly 15 percent of provisional ballots were rejected statewide. Of the 22,978 provisional ballots rejected, 776 were because they didn’t provide proper identification, according to data from the Ohio Secretary of State.
Also local boards of elections have contacted hundreds of voters whose mailed absentee ballots were missing needed information on the ballot envelope.
“Both provisional voters who didn’t have an ID and people who sent in ballots in ‘defective’ envelopes are supposed to be notified of their opportunity to cure,” said Ellis Jacobs, senior attorney at the public interest law firm Advocates for Basic Legal Equality in Dayton.
“The ballot envelope people should be getting letters, calls, and emails from the BOE. They need to be encouraged to respond quickly — within seven days of the election,” he said.
Jacobs said Election Day poll watchers were notified that some people who voted provisional ballots were not told they might have to do something to have it counted like bring ID to the board of elections within seven days.
Valid provisional and late arriving absentee ballots will be counted after Nov. 16.
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