NORRISTOWN, PA—The Montgomery County Board of Elections today approved a new automatic ballot curing policy to further guarantee that eligible voters are notified and provided with an opportunity to ensure their vote is counted when their mail-in ballot is rejected due to a correctable issue. The policy expands the County’s existing efforts to notify voters of mail-in ballot deficiencies and creates a more efficient notification process.
“Our new automatic ballot curing policy will help hundreds of Montgomery County voters resolve mail-in ballot issues and ensure their votes are counted accurately and on time,” said Neil K. Makhija, Chair of the Montgomery County Board of Elections. “It’s our responsibility to make voting accessible and fair, and eligible voters should never be disenfranchised because of a correctable mistake on their ballot. This is another step the County is taking towards protecting voter rights and making the process work better for our residents.”
In Pennsylvania, counties determine how voters are informed about mail-in ballot deficiencies. Mail-in ballots are rejected for a variety of reasons—usually simple mistakes or oversights by voters—including missing signatures and missing secrecy envelopes (known as naked ballots). Deficient ballots are reviewed, categorized, and logged by election staff before notifications are sent out by the SURE system.
In 2024, Montgomery County recorded 1,186 deficient mail-in ballots, of which 516, nearly 44%, ultimately went uncounted because the voter did not resolve the issue and cast a corrected ballot.
Starting with the upcoming election, Montgomery County will automatically send a replacement ballot to voters whose ballots are rejected due to a missing signature, missing secrecy envelope, or ballot damage. Voters with identification verification issues will be notified so they can provide identification.
“Many of the errors we see on mail-in ballots are simple mistakes that anyone could make. If someone misses a signature or forgets a step, they shouldn’t be excluded from the democratic process,” said Jamila Winder, Vice Chair of the Montgomery County Board of Elections. “A healthy democracy should make it easy to participate, so every eligible voter should have a fair chance to correct their ballot and have it counted."
This policy goes into effect immediately for the November 2026 General Election. Voters will still be able to track the status of their mail-in ballots using Pennsylvania’s online Ballot Tracker and contact Montgomery County Voter Services on election-related questions.
Montgomery County’s Voter Services website has information for residents to register to vote, check their voter registration status, find their polling place, and more.
For more information about the 2026 General Election and how to vote, visit Voter Services or call 610-278-3280.
