Millions of Americans vote by mail every year. Voting by mail is an established tradition and efficient method of casting a ballot across the country, but the rules governing how ballots are returned, verified, and counted vary state by state. 

To ensure all mail-in ballots are counted, it’s important to have “notice and cure” processes. This blog will describe what those processes are, and why they’re important. 

The Issue of Rejected Ballots 

Our democracy is strongest when every voter is able to make their voice heard. But every election, thousands of ballots are thrown out because of simple technicalities like missing the delivery deadline, issues with the signature, or uneven enforcement of the rules. This is especially true for communities of color, younger voters, and first-time voters who are more likely to have their ballots rejected. 

In the 2024 general election, 1.2% of mail ballots were rejected nationwide. The most common reason for rejection was an alleged non-matching signature, which accounted for 40.7% of the rejections While that overall rate may seem relatively small, that 1.2% represents hundreds of thousands of voters’ ballots. What’s more, it’s a higher rate than those from 2020 and 2016. 

Fewer rejected ballots mean that the actual will of the population will be reflected in the vote total. One of the best ways to ensure that every vote is counted is for states to have notice and cure procedures in place. 

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https://www.lwv.org/blog/what-notice-and-cure-process-absentee-and-mail-...