CHECK: Provisional ballots are an option where same-day voting is not

People on social media are reminding voters of their options if things go wrong on election day.

A viral tweet stated that poll workers are required to give you a provisional ballot with a receipt if you are refused a vote at the ballot box.

Is it really true? Will you have a provisional ballot if you request one?

Are poll workers required to offer you a provisional ballot if you are refused a regular ballot?

In almost all states, yes. Federal law requires most states to offer provisional ballots, exempting only states where same-day voter registration was an option when the law was passed. Today, 47 states are offering provisional ballots.

Provisional ballots are required by the Help America Vote Act of 2002. This law requires election officials to propose a provisional ballot instead of a regular ballot when there is uncertainty about a voter’s eligibility.

The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) offers a list of reasons why voters may receive provisional ballots in different states. The most common reason is that the identity of a voter cannot be immediately established because their name is not on the registration list or for some other reason, although in some states voters may need a provisional ballot paper if they do not have an identity document as required to declare it, if they have requested a postal ballot and have not voted on it, or for a certain many other reasons.

A provisional ballot can be rejected or accepted after it has been tabled. Some states are more likely to accept such ballots than others. The NCSL has a chart for different reasons, states may reject or accept a provisional ballot.

This law exempted states that offered same-day voter registration when the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 was enacted. There were six such states: Idaho, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

According to NCSL, three of those states chose not to offer provisional ballots: Idaho, Minnesota and New Hampshire.

You can register to vote on the same day you vote, even on election day, in these states. This means that issues that would normally contribute to your needing a provisional ballot can be addressed at their polling stations. The NCSL has a list of 21 states plus the District of Columbia that now allow voters to register to vote on election day.