What is ballot curing, and what does it mean for Georgia voters as count nears finish?
Voters in Georgia have until 5 p.m. Friday to fix absentee ballots that could decide the fate of the U.S. presidential election after Democratic nominee Joe Biden took a late lead over President Donald Trump.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger said during a news conference Friday there are 4,169 ballots that remain to be counted, in addition to up to 8,890 military and overseas ballots that need to arrive by end of business Friday and an unknown number of provisional ballots.
Absentee ballots that were filled out incorrectly won’t be counted. But Georgia is one of a few battleground states that allows voters to correct, or “cure,” their ballots by a certain deadline.
“One of the most common reasons an absentee ballot is rejected is because it has not been properly signed,” state election officials said.
Voters whose ballot was rejected because of an error should have been notified by their county elections office. They can also check the status of their absentee ballot at the Georgia My Voter Page.
To correct a ballot, voters should reach out to the county registrar.
“When we receive a ballot back from a voter, an absentee ballot, and it doesn’t have the signature on the oath, or it has a mismatched signature from what we have on file, we send them a letter and a cure affidavit,” Andy Holland with the Houston County Board of Elections told WMAZ.
A Bibb County voter told the TV station he was able to correct his absentee ballot, which election officials rejected because he didn’t sign it, by sending a copy of his driver’s license and a signed affidavit “saying I am who I actually am,” WMAZ reported.
State officials on Thursday “couldn’t immediately provide the number of uncured absentee ballots,” which are kept at the county level, The Associated Press reported.
Raffensberger said Friday the presidential race in Georgia was still too close to call, adding the difference in votes will be just “a few thousand.”
“With a margin that small, there will be a recount,” he said.
According to the Georgia House Budget and Research Office, a candidate can request a recount only after the results have been certified and if the margin of victory is within .05%. The request must be made within two days after the results are certified, which is 5 p.m. on the second Friday after the election.
The election superintendent may also request a recount at his or her discretion.
This story was originally published November 6, 2020 at 7:49 AM with the headline "What is ballot curing, and what does it mean for Georgia voters as count nears finish?."
