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"Protect the Vote"

Thursday, October 23rd, 2:00-3:00pm Eastern

NVEN's free online trainings provide 501(c)(3) nonprofits with the information they need to begin to incorporate voter participation activities into their ongoing work.

Provisional Ballots

What is a Provisional Ballot?

The right to a provisional ballot is part of the 2002 Help America Vote Act .

It gives you a second chance to cast their vote on Election Day if you are denied a regular ballot for reasons such as –

Your name does not appear on the voter rolls
You have a problem with their voter identification, or
You are at the wrong polling location.

When do they count?

Provisional ballots are counted starting the day after the regular election. If election officials can verify that you are registered to vote in the appropriate jurisdiction, your provisional ballot will count. A poll worker can tell you how to find out if your ballot was counted. Many states provide a number to call or website to check to find if your ballot counted.

In 2006, over 650,000 or one percent of all voters ended up using a provisional ballot. Four of five were counted.

Does provisional voting work the same in all states?

No. Provisional voting has different rules in most states.

What are the differences?

The biggest difference is when voters may use a provisional ballot. The majority of states only allow you to use a provisional ballot if you arrive at your correct precinct. Many other states like California allow more expanded provisional voting. You may cast a provisional ballot for any race so long as you’re voting in the right jurisdiction. There’s a big difference here. The latter means you can vote provisionally and have that vote count for a statewide race such as Governor or a state ballot measure no matter where you are in the state. For example suddenly out of town or unable to get home to your neighorhood poll.

What about states with Election Day Registration?

States with Election Day registration rely far less on provisional ballots. The EDR states allow voters to correct a registration error at the polls on election day. Ultimately Election Day registration is a better solution to the problem that provisional ballots were designed to address. In addition to EDR, universal or automatic voter registration methods used in other democracies would greatly reduce the need for provisional ballots.

Regardless of what rules your state uses, we would encourage every voter who has a problem at the polls to ask for a provisional ballot. It could well be counted and may make a difference.

For More Information on Provisional Ballots in Your State, visit:

Your State Election Website - follow link for State Election Office on the right sidebar of your state page.
Vote411's guide to Provisional Ballot Rules in the states
Electionline.org's guide to Provisional Ballot Verification (PDF) in the states

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