Ballot Curing: An Election Protection Tool for 2020
In a presidential race that hinges more than ever on mail-in ballots, voter protection efforts have adapted.
A flier from Nevada Democrats informs voters that they can “cure” their ballots if they were rejected.
Photographer: Laura Bliss
By Wednesday night in Nevada, a razor-thin margin separated the tallies of the two leading presidential candidates. Yet thousands of mail-in ballots couldn’t yet be counted because of missing or mismatched signatures.
In an election with far more mail-in ballots cast than usual, Democrat and Republican operatives are mobilizing to “cure” ballots in battlegrounds where tight races depend on ballot counts still underway. The little-known tool is getting the spotlight this year, as election protection efforts adapt to troubleshooting voting challenges that primarily happened through the mail rather than in-person, where they can be monitored in real time.