'Don't Vote Naked!' Campaign Educating Delco On Mail-In Ballots

DELAWARE COUNTY, PA — By now, you've surely heard concerns about "naked ballots" in Pennsylvania for the upcoming general election.

"Naked ballots" are those mailed in without the secrecy envelope that covers the identity of the voter. Naked ballots cannot be counted, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled.

With the goal of preventing election chaos, Delaware County has launched an eye-catching awareness campaign to raise to help residents vote by mail properly.

"Don’t Vote Naked!" is aimed at reducing the number of ballots that will be disqualified if a voter doesn’t properly place their voted mail-in or absentee ballot in both envelopes that are included with their official ballot materials.

Voters who want to make sure their vote is counted are reminded to carefully follow the vote-by- mail instructions enclosed with their ballot.

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Their completed ballot should first be placed in the smaller secrecy envelope marked "OFFICIAL ELECTION BALLOT," which should then be sealed.

The secrecy envelope containing their completed ballot is then placed in the larger return envelope marked "VOTER’S DECLARATION" and then signed, dated and sealed.

Voters can return their own completed ballot by mail (the return envelope is postage-
paid); at one of Delaware County's three Voter Service Centers (get details on the centers here); or at any one of the official ballot drop boxes located around the county (locations and hours of the Ballot Boxes will be released soon).

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently ruled that "naked ballots," or ballots mailed in without the second secrecy envelope over the ballot which covers the identity of the voter, cannot be counted.

There are concerns the nuance of this step will be overlooked by tens of thousands of voters.

The decision not to count naked ballots was overshadowed by another Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling, which extended the deadline to count mail-in ballots in the state by three days, to Nov. 6. Officials are hopeful this eases concerns of voters that their ballots might get lost in the shuffle on Election Day, or that the Postal Service might not deliver them in time.

Delaware County's election website features up-to- date forms and applications, deadlines, and the latest news regarding the 2020 General Election.