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One of the basic tenets of democracy is that each person has only one vote. Election officials take many steps to ensure that voters only cast one ballot in an election, or if a voter casts more than one ballot (i.e., votes a mailed ballot and then attempts to vote in person on Election Day), that only one ballot is counted. To do this, election officials are responsible for maintaining current and accurate voter lists, and many states compare registration and voting records with other states. Election officials keep detailed records of when voters are issued ballots, and whether those ballots are cast.
If a voter’s eligibility cannot be verified (e.g., the voter was not on the list of eligible voters, the voter's information was incomplete or not accurate, or the voter had already received a ballot in the mail and was allowed to vote), they may be allowed to vote a provisional or fail-safe ballot. Provisional ballots are kept separate from other ballots and will only be processed and counted if the election official has verified the voter is eligible and has not already voted in the election.
When a voter requests a mail ballot, election officials verify that the request was made by the voter before issuing the ballot. When a ballot is returned to the elections office, officials (often bi-partisan teams) verify the signature or other identifying information on the ballot envelope to make sure it was cast by the voter. If required information is missing or incomplete, or if a signature is required and doesn’t match the one on file, the ballot will not be counted. In some cases, the voter may be notified and given an opportunity to correct the issue.
Visit eac.gov/vote for quick links to your state or territory’s elections website for information about how ballots are tracked and counted in your state.