SALEM, VA – Wednesday’s Supreme Court decision on Virginia voter purging has made eligibility top of mind for many polling places. And when there’s a question about eligibility, it all comes down to a little green envelope.
“If it’s in doubt, give out - a provisional,” Secretary of the Salem Electoral Board Katherin Elam said.
Before you hit the polls Tuesday, it’s a good idea to make sure your registration is in order, and you have everything you need.
But as Secretary of the Salem Electoral Board Katherin Elam tells us, no year is without a forgotten ID or two.
“A lot of times it’s just that they don’t have the proper information,” Elam said.
But - when issues arise at the poll, in comes a provisional ballot.
“The provisional ballot is allowing everyone to be able to vote. If there happens to be a question about whether they’re on the poll books, whether they belong in our area,” Elam said.
You cast your vote as normal but put it in this green envelope.
There, you fill out information about what the potential issue is and confirm your personal information.
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“They’re signing off. We then have time to check their records and their IDs to make sure they’re not registered in other areas. ”
Elam and the other electoral board members go through the provisional ballots one by one the day after the election - certifying the votes.
“If you find an issue with a provisional ballot, the requirements haven’t been met, what happens then?” 10 News Anchor Abbie Coleman asked.
“There is an identification piece that we send out a letter to that voter that there’s been a challenge there. So, we will have to do it. We’ll toss them out if they aren’t meeting the requirements,” Elam said.
But with 1600 voters purged from the registry in Virginia - provisional ballots are on the forefront for Elam.
“Some people have been checked as a noncitizen, and they did not check it necessarily, so they fell into a hopper I guess as being a noncitizen until that could be confirmed,” she said.
And if there’s a question about that - it falls on the electoral board to validate their status.
“As long as they have that information and can prove it, then we can go forward,” she said.
