Your PA Ballot Will Look Different This Year: Here's Why

HARRISBURG, PA — Voters in Pennsylvania this fall will see a new mail-in ballot design which officials hope can drastically reduce the plague of "naked ballots" that has resulted in thousands of rejected or contested votes in recent elections.

The new design, which first appeared during the primaries this spring, has redesigned envelopes for mail-in ballots and explicit instruction sheets with revised, clearer language. Authorities are hopeful the design will reduce voter confusion and make it foolproof where they need to sign and date the ballot, and which paper needs to go where.

Mail-in ballots that do not include a signature or date in the required place are often contested. Ballots that do not have the special secrecy envelope covering them are considered "naked." Both types of issues caused controversy in Pennsylvania in the hotly contested 2020 election.

"Our hope is that these new materials will better assist voters in making sure their completed mail ballot packet is filled out correctly and can be counted," Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt said.

Specific changes to the design include a more identifiable secrecy envelope with a yellow background, a full page of instructions with graphics, and a pre-filled "20" at the beginning of the year on the envelope so voters know to write the current date, instead of their birthdate.

The plan is not perfect, however, as the state must work with counties to certify the election results. During this year's primary, some counties refused to count ballots that had small errors in the date section, despite the state's urging they be counted, according to a WHYY report.

On Tuesday, Schmidt certified the official lists of candidates for the general election, meaning that counties across Pennsylvania can now begin printing ballots and mailing them to voters who have decided to vote by mail.

The last hold up to this certification was an effort spearheaded by Democrats to keep third party options off the ballot. Gov. Shapiro's administration took it to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to assure that Cornel West, an independent candidate who could siphon votes from Kamala Harris in the presidential election, does not appear on the ballot. The court affirmed a lower court's ruling that West did not have the proper paperwork.

The drama over the design of the ballots and any contested votes — as well as third party ballot access — could have major ramifications for a presidential election that appears to be just as close as 2016 and 2020. Pennsylvania could once again be the turning point, and if the margin is nearly as close as it was in the past two elections, the success of this altered mail-in ballot format could be pivotal in determining the winner of the White House.

Harris now leads former President Trump by two points nationally, according to an aggregate of polls from RealClearPolitics, though Trump holds a 0.2 percent lead in Pennsylvania.

As counties receive their ballots, registered voters in Pennsylvania can go to their county's election office and apply for a mail-in ballot and submit it in the same visit. The deadline to apply to vote in this way is Oct. 29. The general election is Nov. 5.