If you haven’t yet registered to vote in the upcoming primary elections, now’s the time to get on it: the deadline is next Monday, May 4.
Also, if you’re already registered and you’re voting via mail, you might want to check the list below. So far 93 Philly mail voters have ballot issues that put them at risk of not having their votes counted.
Read on for instructions on how to register and how to fix your ballot so it counts in the May 19 primary election.
Registration cut-off coming up
To check your registration status, you can call the City Commissioners at 215-686-1590 or look it up at the Pa. Department of State website.
At this point your best strategy might be to register online at the state voter services page. Or, you can register in person at the Board of Elections office in City Hall, Room 140; at the Voter Registration Office, 520 N. Columbus Blvd at Spring Garden Street; or at one of the city’s 10 satellite election offices.
Those offices are open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends.
You can also pick up a paper voter registration application and mail it in, but you would have to do that lickety-split to make the May 4 deadline. They’re available at post offices, public libraries, state liquor stores, and state government offices, and you can also print out the application form at home.
For more on how to register, including information for people with criminal records, check out the City Commissioners’ registration page.
Ballot flaws: Wrong addresses and ballot prep mistakes
Philadelphia’s Board of Elections has so far approved 77,691 vote-by-mail applications, deputy commissioner Nick Custodio said. As those ballots go out and voters start returning them, the Office of City Commissioners is posting its list of ballots that have errors or are undeliverable.
Most of the problems so far are with ballots that are undeliverable due to wrong addresses or other issues. The total number is small at this point, but will likely grow as the commissioners receive more ballots back.
Common flaws 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”)
- 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 19, per Pennsylvania law.
But Philadelphia has machines that sort the sealed ballots in advance and can tell if a secrecy envelope is missing just by the weight of the whole mail ballot package. 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, or visit one of the satellite election offices for in-person help.
The ID verification forms are due by Tuesday, May 26.
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 a satellite office.
Replacement ballots 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).
Ballots can also be mailed in. They must be received at the Board of Elections by 8 p.m. on Primary Election Day, May 19, and postmarks don’t count. Mail ballots may not be turned in at polling places.
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 April 29. For the latest, updated version of the list, visit the City Commissioners’ website. The site also includes sample ballots and other info about the primary election.
