Voting Provisionally (§)24.2-653

Provisional ballots allow voters that have issues with their identification, registration, or voting status to mark a ballot that will be reviewed by the Electoral Board after Election Day. Provisional ballots are handled separately from normally cast ballots. They are not scanned and counted at the polling place, but after review by the Electoral Board, if accepted, are scanned and counted prior to election certification.

Reasons a voter may be encouraged to vote provisionally include:

• Pollbook shows that the voter requested that a mail ballot be issued to them, but the original ballot has not been returned and the voter does not have it with them to be surrendered.

• Pollbook shows that the voter has already voted in this election.

• Voter does not have acceptable identification and refused to sign the ID Confirmation Statement.

• Voter is voting after hours due to a court order.

The local electoral board reviews each provisional ballot during its canvass of votes to determine if the vote will be counted. The first meeting of the electoral board to review provisional ballots is Wednesday, the day after Election Day (usually beginning at 9am), and the process must be concluded within seven days.

If proper identification is required, a voter will have until noon on the Friday following the election to deliver a copy of the identification to the local electoral board. Voters may submit a copy of their ID via fax, email, in-person submission, or through USPS or commercial delivery service.

Those who vote provisionally will receive a written notice at the time they complete their provisional ballot with instructions on further action they can take, including the email, fax, and address of where proof of ID should be delivered and the date of the Electoral Board’s provisional ballot hearing, which they are encouraged to attend in person, but are not required for their ballot to count.

If for whatever reason the Voter's ballot is not counted, they will receive written notification from the Registrar's Office explaining why.