U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

1225 New York Ave. – Suite 1100 

Washington, DC 20005 

Best Practices on Provisional Voting 

Background:

Section 302 of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) creates the right for potential voters to 

cast provisional ballots in the event their names do not appear on the registration list or the 

voters’ eligibility is challenged by an election official. The issuance of a provisional ballot is 

best described as a safety net or fail safe for the voter, in that: 

• It maintains the person’s intent to vote and selections until election officials determine that 

the person does or does not have the right to cast a ballot in the election. 

• It allows the determination of the voter’s eligibility to be made at a time when more 

perfect or complete information is available either from the voter or from the election 

jurisdiction. 

Election officials make the decision on whether to count provisional ballots based on voter 

eligibility standards established in State and Federal law, including age, citizenship, and 

residence requirements. While HAVA establishes identification (ID) requirements for first 

time voters who registered by mail, many States impose stricter standards for the 

identification of all voters. States determine which provisional ballots meet those ID 

requirements. 

Provisional balloting prevents the possible disenfranchisement of voters. However, the 

policies and procedures for administering provisional voting vary from State to State. In 

some States, a person can cast a provisional ballot in any precinct in the State regardless of 

where the person is registered. In other States, a person must cast a provisional ballot in the 

precinct in which the person is eligible to vote. A consistent approach within each State is 

key to ensuring that all voters are treated equally. 

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) issued Advisory 2005-006 in September 

2005, to provide clarification on provisional voting and identification requirements. The EAC 

offers the following information as a complement to Advisory 2005-006 and as best practices 

to guide States as they administer the provisional balloting process. By recommending these 

practices, the EAC offers informed advice while respecting diversity among the States. 
Overview of Recommendations for Best Practices 

Although wide variation exists in implementing provisional voting among and within States, 

recommendations for best practices based on the experiences of the 2004 elections can be 

useful as States seek to implement provisional voting policies and procedures that are fair, 

transparent, and effective. 

Efforts to improve provisional voting may be most effective as part of a broader effort by 

State and local election officials to strengthen their systems. Collecting and analyzing data 

about those systems will enable States to identify which aspects of the registration and 

electoral system cause most voters to end up casting provisional ballots. Election officials can 

then look to their registration system, identification requirements, or poll worker training as 

ways to reduce the need for voters to cast provisional ballots. 

Election officials are encouraged to review these recommendations as they prepare to 

administer the distribution and processing of provisional ballots for the November 2006 

election cycle. In 2007, the EAC will collect statistical data on provisional ballots cast in this 

election. Additional analysis and study will result in recommendations for continued 

improvement in this aspect of election administration. 

The recommendations provided below are grouped based on each stage of the provisional 

voting process, as follows: 

• Voter Outreach/Communication 

• Laws, Policies and Procedures 

• Staff and Poll Worker Training 

• Managing Election Day 

• Evaluating Voter Eligibility and Counting Provisional Ballots 

• Post-Election Statistical and Systems Analysis 

Voter Outreach/Communication

• Assess the usefulness and clarity of information provided to voters – both in 

written format and posted on web sites. 

• Take advantage of mandated mailings (i.e. sample ballots and/or registration 

certificates) to further notify voters of the need to update their voter registration 

record to reflect a change in name, address, or party affiliation. In States where 

sample ballots are not required, mail voter registration affidavits with polling place 

location and address to all voters. 

• Inform voters of laws regarding provisional voting. Prominently post and widely 

distribute provisional voting and administrative complaint procedures before, 

during, and after each election to ensure that voters know their provisional voting 

rights and what to do if they believe their right to vote was denied. 

2
• Inform voters of laws regarding voter identification. Train registration staff and 

volunteers to collect and verify voter identification requirements at the initial point 

of registration. 

• Collect required identification from voters registering by mail by including an 

informational handout when you mail their voter registration certificate. 

• Monitor the number of registered voters that must show identification on Election 

Day, and take proactive steps to collect this data prior to Election Day. 

• In states that require voters to provide identification in every election, educate 

voters and poll workers on the various types of acceptable identification. 

• Provide clear, straightforward information about the process for re-enfranchising 

felons. 

• Use election office web sites to provide helpful information to voters including 

whether they are registered to vote; how they can update their registration for 

changes of name, address or party; boundaries of precincts; location of polling 

places; requirements for identification; and other helpful information that will 

facilitate voter registration and voting. In addition, provide an 800 number that 

voters can use to contact their election official. 

• Encourage voter outreach efforts to inform voters of the need to validate/update 

their voter registration records. 

Laws, Policies and Procedures

• Review State laws regarding the validity of a provisional ballot when cast in the 

wrong precinct. It is a good practice for poll workers to direct the voter to the 

correct precinct in states where provisional ballots are counted only when cast in 

the voter’s own precinct.

• Utilize State laws or regulations to require an evaluation process for provisional 

ballots while protecting the names of those who voted provisionally. 

• Give voters who lack the needed ID a reasonable period of time to provide it to 

officials prior to counting provisional ballots. 

Staff and Poll Worker Training

• Provide standard information resources for the training of poll workers by local 

jurisdictions. Examples of training materials might include maps or databases with 

instructions on how to locate polling places for potential voters who show up at the 

wrong polling place. Usable and useful information in the hands of poll workers 

3
can protect voters from being penalized by administrative errors at the polling 

place. 

• Ensure that state training materials provided to local jurisdictions clearly indicates 

that the only permissible requirement for obtaining a provisional ballot is an 

affirmation that the voter is registered in the jurisdiction and is eligible to vote in 

an election for Federal office. 

Managing Election Day

• Provide poll workers with color-coded supplies, informational handouts and 

checklists to aid in processing provisional voters. Example: To avoid confusion 

while counting ballots produce provisional ballots with a design and/or color that 

is different from a regular ballot. Handouts should describe the procedures for 

evaluating the provisional ballot and steps the voters can take to determine if their 

ballots were counted. Training materials should include instructions on the 

options available to provisional voters. 

 

• Ensure that each polling place has sufficient supplies for all provisional voters, i.e. 

ballots, envelopes, handouts, etc. States should provide guidelines for estimating 

the provisional supplies needed at each polling place. Offer a practical method to 

guide the supply of provisional ballots at polling places and that takes into account 

the number of voters in the district and the number of provisional ballots cast in 

recent elections. Example: Connecticut and Delaware provide guidelines to local 

election officials on how to estimate the demand for provisional ballots. 

Connecticut sets the number at 1 percent of the voters in the district; Delaware 

sets the number at 6 percent. 

• Review the layout and staffing level of all polling places, particularly the multiprecinct polling places. To help voters cast their ballot in the right place, provide 

greeters, maps, and prominently posted voter information about provisional 

ballots, ID requirements, and related topics. 

• Provide voters with printed information explaining how to check to see if their 

ballot was counted. 

• For those States that require voters to appear at their assigned precincts, make sure 

voters know the importance of voting within their own precincts and ramifications 

of voting in another precinct. Involve the voter in deciding whether to go to the 

correct precinct or vote provisionally for only the higher offices at the top of the 

ballot. 

• Establish a clear chain of custody for handling provisional ballots from production 

through distribution, collection, and evaluation, including written procedures for 

this chain of custody. 

4
• Collect statistical information regarding number of provisional ballots cast by 

polling place and provide this data to the media and candidates as soon as possible 

after Election Day. 

Evaluating Voter Eligibility and Counting Provisional Ballots

• Use a signature match method to establish that the individual who voted and the 

individual returning later with identification is, in fact, the same person. Compare 

the signature match with motor vehicle records and other databases that are 

available to counties. 

• Prepare a written procedure and checklist for officials to identify the reason why 

provisional ballots are rejected. After completing the checklist disclose them 

publicly. Example: Check the applicable box “unregistered voter,” “lack of 

signature match,” “wrong precinct”, etc.. 

• Notify voters regarding whether their provisional ballots are counted. Provide 

information to enable voters to determine if they are registered for future elections 

and, if not, what they need to do to become registered. 

• Verify provisional ballots in a timely manner. The time by which election officials 

must make their eligibility determinations is particularly important in presidential 

elections because of the need to certify electors to the Electoral College. Consider 

how to divide the time constraints imposed in a presidential election by the safeharbor provisions regarding certification to the Electoral College. Since some part 

of this 5-week period will be consumed by the eligibility evaluation, take care to 

provide a sufficient period of time for challenges. 

Post-Election Statistical and Systems Analysis

• Collect data systematically on the provisional voting process to permit consistent 

evaluation of State procedures and assess changes from one election to the next. 

Example: (1 ) number of provisional ballots cast by county; (2) reasons why 

provisional ballots were cast and number counted and not counted, by category; 

(3) measures of variance among jurisdictions; and (4) time required to process 

and research provisional ballots by jurisdiction.

• Analyze your State’s provisional voting system, by asking the following questions: 

1) Does the provisional voting system distribute, collect, record, and tally 

provisional ballots with sufficient accuracy to be seen as procedurally 

legitimate by both supporters and opponents of the winning candidate? 

2) Does the tally include all votes cast by properly registered voters who 

correctly completed the steps required? 

5
3) Is the provisional voting system sufficiently structured to perform well 

under the pressure of a close election when ballot evaluation will be 

under scrutiny and litigation looms? 

4) Do the procedural requirements of the system permit a cost-efficient, 

accurate and timely operation? Are the administrative requirements of 

the system reasonable given the availability of staff and other resource 

requirements? 

5) How great is the variation in the use of provisional voting in counties or 

equivalent levels of voting jurisdiction within the State? Is the variation 

great enough to cause concern that the system may not be administered 

uniformly across the State? 

CONCLUSION

The EAC recommends that States take the following actions: 

• Recognize that the first step to improving quality is to see the provisional voting 

process as a system and to take a systems approach to regular evaluation through 

standardized metrics with explicit goals for performance. 

• Allow the provisional ballot to be a procedure for change of address for the voter 

or for registering the voter for the next election and future elections. 

• Establish a clear chain of custody for handling provisional ballots from production 

through distribution, collection, and evaluation, including written procedures for 

this chain of custody. 

• Collect data systematically on the provisional voting process to enable an ongoing 

evaluation of how well States’ voting procedures are working. Assess changes 

from one election to the next. The effort should start in the 2006 election and 

should include collecting the following data: 

-- Provisional votes cast and counted by jurisdiction, with details on why the 

voter had to vote provisionally (lack of ID, not on list, challenged at polling 

place, issued absentee ballot) and the number of ballots actually counted in 

each category. 

-- Reasons why provisional ballots were not counted. 

-- Measures of variance among jurisdictions. 

-- Number of poll workers trained in the administration of provisional voting 

by polling place. 

-- Number of jurisdictions posting information on provisional voting in the 

polling place. 

-- Time required to process and research ballots by jurisdiction. 

6