By Meghan McCann and Wendy Underhill

How would you feel if you showed up at your polling place and the poll worker couldn’t find your name on the voter roll? 

If you were turned away—“Sorry, better luck next time”—you’d be mad, and you’d be disenfranchised.

Because of that possibility, provisional ballots—special ballots designed to ensure that all voters get the chance to vote on Election Day even if their eligibility to vote is uncertain—are available in most states. 

Approximately 1 percent of general election ballots cast are provisional ballots, although the usage rate varies widely from state to state. In the 2012 election, just over 8 percent of California ballots were provisionals, whereas in Wisconsin, under half a percent of ballots were.

The federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) requires most states to offer a process for issuing, investigating and counting provisional ballots (aka “affidavit” ballots, “fail safe”  ballots or “challenge” ballots), including a process so the voter can learn if his or her provisional ballot was counted and the reasoning behind that decision. In practice, that means either a website the voter can check or a notification about the decision and the reason behind it.

States vary greatly in their provisional ballot processes. NCSL’s elections team, with support from The Pew Charitable Trusts, recently compiled 50-state information on Provisional Ballots including issues such as:

• Why they are issued.
• Why they are rejected, and thus, not counted.
• How long election officials have to count them.
• Whether they count if cast in the wrong precinct.
• What, if any, actions  the voter must take following Election Day to ensure their ballot is counted.
• The legislative role in setting policy on provisional ballots.

The most common reasons voters are required to vote on provisional ballots are that their names are not on the list or they do not have the required identification with them at the polls.

Once the provisional ballots are voted, an investigation begins. This usually takes place in the days or weeks following the election and is conducted by election officials in the county or state—and from there, the ballot will either be counted or rejected.

These rates vary too, from 1.8 percent rejected in Arizona to virtually none in Maine and Wisconsin. For more information and a look at how states are dealing with provisional ballots, check out NCSL’s Provisional Ballots page.

Meghan McCann is a policy specialist with the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Email Meghan

Wendy Underhill is a program manager with the National Conference of State Legislatures’ Legislative Management Program. She works primarily on election administration and technology issues.

Email Wendy