Cure your ballot: 550+ Philly mail voters have a chance to fix errors

Are you one of the more than 250 Philadelphia mail voters whose ballot is at risk of not being counted?

Or are you among the 329 voters in zip code 19146 who may have received an incorrect ballot?

If you think you might be, check the lists posted below for your name, and read on for instructions on how to fix the problems and make your vote count in the May 20 primary election.

Address, ID, and ballot prep mistakes

The first group of voters include those who already returned their mail ballot but made errors that put them at risk of not being counted. Others never received their ballot in the first place.

The Office of City Commissioners has been updating its list of ballots that have errors or are undeliverable. The number is relatively small compared to the thousands of people with mail ballot problems during general elections, but could grow as more ballots are received. The issues include:

• No signature on the exterior envelope
• No date on the exterior envelope
• Incorrect date on the envelope
• No secrecy envelope (aka a “naked ballot”)
• Undeliverable, possibly due to a wrong address
• Unverifiable identification

Elections officials haven’t yet started counting the votes in the mail ballots — they’re not allowed to do that until the polls open at 7 a.m. on May 20, per Pennsylvania law.

But Philadelphia has machines that sort the sealed ballots in advance, separating them into groups by zip code. The machines can tell if a secrecy envelope is missing just by the weight of the whole mail ballot package, and administrative staff can tell by looking at the outer envelope if the date or signature isn’t there.

See the first searchable list, toward the bottom of this page, to check if you need to fix your ballot.

How to fix a flawed mail ballot

Some of the Philadelphia voters on the list are marked as having unverifiable identification. They should fill out an ID verification form and submit it along with a picture or photocopy of an acceptable ID, if available, to phillyelection@phila.gov or via fax to (215) 686-3398. They can also call (215) 686-3469. Those are due by Tuesday, May 27. 

The other voters on the list made errors when completing their ballots, or their ballots were never delivered to them because the addresses were wrong, or there was a problem at the post office. 

They can get a replacement ballot at the County Board of Elections office in City Hall Room 140 or any of the city’s 10 satellite election offices.

The City Hall office is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. It can be reached at (215) 686-3469.

The satellite offices are also open during the same hours: weekdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends.

Replacements can be filled out and submitted on the spot, or deposited in one of the city’s many secure drop boxes (here’s a map). 

Check our procrastinator’s guide to all the candidates for a refresh on who’s who.

Ballots can also be mailed in, but since there’s not much time left before the election, voters are strongly advised to drop them in person. They must be received at the Board of Elections by 8 p.m. on May 20, and postmarks don’t count.

Mail ballots may not be turned in at polling places on Election Day.

If you or someone you know is on the list but can’t get to an election office in time due to a disability, they can authorize a designated agent to pick up and/or return their completed ballot. A designated agent form is available at the City Commissioners’ website.

If you’re on the list but aren’t able to get a replacement using the instructions above, you can request a provisional ballot at your polling place on Election Day. Provisional ballots are the last to be counted.

Below is a searchable list of ballots with errors as of May 13. For the latest, updated version of the list, click here to visit the City Commissioners’ website.

Replacing incorrect ballots

The Board of Elections is also reporting that another, less common type of ballot snafu occurred this month.

Because of a vendor processing error that happened on May 5, about 329 voters whose mailing addresses are mostly in the 19146 zip code may have received the wrong ballot. They ballots may include the wrong races — that is, contests they’re not eligible to vote on, per the Commissioners.

The board is notifying all the potentially affected voters and has already mailed them replacement ballots. The new ballot packets have “REPLACEMENT BALLOT ENCLOSED” printed in red on the outer envelope, and include an insert explaining the vendor processing error.

Check the second list, below, to see if you’re one of the affected voters. If you haven’t received a replacement ballot, or you prefer to pick up one in person, visit the Board of Elections office in City Hall or a satellite election office. You can also call the board’s main number at 215-686-VOTE (8683).

The same rules mentioned above, about designated agents and provisional ballots, apply to the replacement ballots.

List of voters with fixable ballot flaws

Here’s the first list, of voters who made errors with their mail ballots that need to be fixed.

List of voters who got the wrong ballot

Here’s the second list, of voters in zip code 19146 who may have received the wrong ballot.