Chapter 10 — The Most Common Challenges.

3.1. Circumstances Beyond The Voter's Control

Sometimes a voter is being batted between two polling places, each telling the voter to go to the other. The poll watcher should take the time to find out if this is a simple matter of the voter asking for change of address or a complicated problem, such as the county not listing the address.

If the voter believes themself to be at the correct polling place — even when the election judges instructs them that they are not at the correct polling place — the voter can vote a provisional ballot.

See: Chapter 8, Voting A Provisional Ballot. opens in a new browser tab..

As always, the poll watcher should consider voting a provisional ballot a last resort; but in a choice between voting a provisional ballot and not voting, the choice should be to vote a provisional ballot.

3.2. Voter Considerations Before Voting A Provisional Ballot.

A poll watcher can discuss with a voter the options to consider before voting a provisional ballot, but warning it is a minefield.

As always, take precautions,

• Identify yourself as a poll watcher and not an election judge.
• Do not discuss politics, do not instruct the voter on how to vote, and do not express a preference on voting while talking to the voter.
• The object is to help the voter make a choice on how to vote. It is illegal to discourage a voter from voting.
• You may decide to take longer discussions outside of the polling room, but as with every discussion with a voter in the polling place, a election judge is welcome to be part of that discussion.

Note: This discussion below is a broad interpretation, and is only meant as an overview for the poll watcher and to help the voter to decide if they want to vote on a provisional ballot.

3.2.1. Right Precinct.

If the voter votes a provisional ballot and is later found to be in the right precinct, then:

• The vote will be counted in that precinct and registration information will be updated.

If the address on the provisional ballot does not match the address listed on voter registration - even if it is within the same precinct - the provisional ballot will be rejected and voter registration will be updated with the address listed on the provisional ballot.

3.2.2. Wrong Precinct, Right County.

If the voter votes a provisional ballot which is later found to be in the wrong precinct but in the right county, then:

• National, statewide, county, and most municipal votes will be counted and added to the count in the correct precinct. If all votes made match one-for-one with the votes available on the sample ballot of the correct precinct, then the ballot will be counted in the correct precinct and the ballot will be listed on the Provisional Voting Verification System as "counted".
• In races where the ballots differ between precincts, those votes will not be counted. The ballot will be listed on the Provisional Voting Verification System as "partially counted".
• Any corrections to registration will be made.

3.2.3. Wrong Precinct, Wrong Jurisdiction, Right County.

If the voter votes in the wrong precinct and the wrong jurisdiction, but the in the right county, then:

• (example: A voter who votes a provisional ballot in suburban Cook County, but is registered in Chicago and under the jurisdiction of the Chicago Board of Elections.)
• The provisional ballot will be transmitted to the correct jurisdiction for counting in the correct precinct.
• National, statewide votes will be counted and added to the count in the correct precinct.
• All votes in local races on the provisional ballot which match one-for-one with races on the sample ballot of the correct precinct will be counted in that precinct.
• If all the votes on the provisional ballot match one-for-one with races on the sample ballot of the correct precinct, the ballot will be listed on the provisional Voting Verification system as "counted".
• If, on the other hand, votes on the provisional ballot were made for races not listed on the sample ballot of the correct precinct, the ballot will be listed on the Provisional Voting Verification System as "partially counted".

3.2.4. Wrong County.

If the voter votes in the the wrong precinct in the wrong county, then:

• If the address listed on the provisional voting affidavit and the listed registered address differ, the ballot will be rejected and the the address on the affidavit will be used to update registration for the next election cycle.
• If the listed registration address and the address on the provisional vote affidavit are the same, the provisional ballot will be transmitted to the correct county for counting in the correct precinct.
• National, statewide votes will be counted and added to the count in the correct precinct.
• All votes in local races on the provisional ballot which match one-for-one with races on the sample ballot of the correct precinct will be counted in that precinct.
• If all the votes on the provisional ballot match one-for-one with races on the sample ballot of the correct precinct, the ballot will be listed on the provisional Voting Verification system as "counted".
• If, on the other hand, votes on the provisional ballot were made for races not listed on the sample ballot of the correct precinct, the ballot will be listed on the Provisional Voting Verification System as "partially counted".