 |
|
The Committee of Seventy
Eight Penn Center
1628 JFK Boulevard
Suite 1002
Philadelphia, PA 19103
p. 215-557-3600
f. 215-557-3608
| |
|
Committee of Seventy Alert
Provisional Ballots
April 22, 2008
The two issues that appear to be most prevalent this morning are:
- Voters whose names are not in the poll book; and
- Voters who are registered as members of one party in the poll book, but who are, in fact, registered as a member of another party.
In each case, voters are permitted to vote by provisional ballot. Properly registered and eligible voters are entitled to vote by provisional ballot if:
- Their names do not appear on the district register (poll book) and election officials cannot determine theirregistration status;
- They don’t have any identification (WHICH IS REQUIRED FOR FIRST-TIME VOTERS OR PEOPLE VOTING FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A NEW DISTRICT), even if their name appears in the poll book;
- An election official questions their right to vote. (This can happen, for example, if the poll book indicates a voter is a registered Republican but the voter says he or she is registered as a Democrat); or
- Both voting machines in a division break down. If at least one machine is operable, the official policy of the Philadelphia Board of Elections is that voters must use that machine rather than be given a provisional ballot.
Voters are required to vote by provisional ballot if they are doing so as a result of a federal or court order, or an order extending the time established for closing the polls by State law that is in effect ten (10) days before an election.
According to the Philadelphia Board of Elections, all provisional ballots are physically returned to the Board. After the election, the Board checks to determine whether the person who cast the provisional ballot was properly registered (in other words, whether the person should have been permitted to vote but was not, for reasons such as the absence of their name in the poll back, incorrect party registration in the poll book). If they should have been permitted to vote, the ballot is deemed ballot and the vote will be counted.
After April 29th, primary voters can call 1-877-VOTESPA to find out the status of their provisional ballot. Voters need to save their provisional ballot identification number, which will be given to them by a polling place official, in order to receive this information.
|
|
|
 |
|
|
