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Provisional Ballot Availability & Counting Procedures

Provisional ballots are a backup voting method intended to allow voters who cannot establish their eligibility at the polling place to cast their ballot and have it counted. Provisional ballots are required under the federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) passed in 2002. Certain states were initially exempted from HAVA’s requirements, and of those states, Idaho, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and North Dakota currently do not issue provisional ballots. This map tracks state policies on how provisional ballots are counted when a voter casts their ballot in the wrong precinct.
United States Map
Washington New York U.S. Virgin Islands Puerto Rico Guam Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands American Samoa New Hampshire Vermont Virginia Pennsylvania New York Maine West Virginia Ohio Kentucky Indiana Michigan Illinois Wisconsin North Carolina South Carolina Tennessee Georgia Florida Mississippi Missouri Arkansas Louisiana Iowa Minnesota Oklahoma Kansas Nebraska South Dakota North Dakota Texas 33 Colorado Wyoming Montana Idaho Arizona Utah Nevada Oregon California Hawaii Alaska Massachusetts Rhode Island Connecticut New Jersey Delaware Maryland Washington D.C. New Hampshire Vermont
  • State fully counts provisional ballots cast in the wrong precinct (3 states)
  • State partially counts provisional ballots cast in the wrong precinct (votes are counted for races in which the voter would have been eligible to cast a ballot for in their correct precinct) (19 states + D.C.)
  • State does not count provisional ballots cast in the wrong precinct or does not issue provisional ballots (28 states)
Recommended citation: Movement Advancement Project. "Provisional Ballot Availability." https://www.mapresearch.org/democracy-maps/provisional_ballot_policies. Accessed 11/10/2024.

Breakdown by Population

*Note: These percentages reflect the voting-eligible population, as reported by the United States Election Project.

5%

5 % of population lives in states that fully count provisional ballots cast in the wrong precinct

43%

43 % of population lives in states that partially count provisional ballots cast in the wrong precinct

52%

52 % of population lives in states that do not count provisional ballots cast in the wrong precinct or do not issue provisional ballots



Data current as of 10/17/2024
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Sexual Orientation Policy Tally

The term “sexual orientation” is loosely defined as a person’s pattern of romantic or sexual attraction to people of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or more than one sex or gender. Laws that explicitly mention sexual orientation primarily protect or harm lesbian, gay, and bisexual people. That said, transgender people who are lesbian, gay or bisexual can be affected by laws that explicitly mention sexual orientation.

Gender Identity Policy Tally

“Gender identity” is a person’s deeply-felt inner sense of being male, female, or something else or in-between. “Gender expression” refers to a person’s characteristics and behaviors such as appearance, dress, mannerisms and speech patterns that can be described as masculine, feminine, or something else. Gender identity and expression are independent of sexual orientation, and transgender people may identify as heterosexual, lesbian, gay or bisexual. Laws that explicitly mention “gender identity” or “gender identity and expression” primarily protect or harm transgender people. These laws also can apply to people who are not transgender, but whose sense of gender or manner of dress does not adhere to gender stereotypes.

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