Forget something? You can check, fix Philly ballots ahead of Election Day

If you turned in your mail-in ballot in Philadelphia for the 2023 mayoral election, the city is now allowing you to check you sent it in correctly – and fix it, if need be – so that your vote counts.

For the more than 1,800 Philadelphians who forgot to date, sign, and/or use the correct envelope for their ballot, they can go to the Board of Elections office located in City Hall to amend their ballot.

Philadelphia's own mayor was among those who had to correct a mistake.

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But how do residents know if they've made a mistake? On Thursday, Nov. 2, Philadelphia city commissioners released a list of people, by zip code, who made an error on their mail-in/absentee ballot.

The mistakes include:

• Those who did not sign the ballot
• Those who did not put a date
• Those who did not put the correct date
• Those that did not use the correct envelope (called naked ballots)

Here is a searchable version of the list that was released by city:

“All these ballot submissions have the possibility of NOT being counted,” the city commissioners said in a release on their site.

The amendments must be made by the end of business hours on Election Day, Nov. 7, at 7:30 p.m.

"It is strongly advised that the voters on these lists request a replacement ballot at the County Board of Elections office in City Hall Room 140 on Friday, November 3rd from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm; Saturday or Sunday from 10:00 am – 3:00 pm; Monday, November 6th from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm; or on Election Day from 9:00 am – 7:30 pm to avoid the potential rejection of their ballot," commissioners said.

Voters who were unable to travel on time or have a health disability are able to choose to have a “designated agent” to pick up or drop off a replacement ballot with a specific form from the city.

If the election’s office had an email address for the voter, they tried to send them an email.

Philadelphia Mayor forgot to date his ballot

Among the people on the list was Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney. He was listed among the voters who didn't date their ballots.

Kenney's office confirmed that he had gotten a replacement ballot to make sure his vote counts.

What's at stake?

It’s unclear how many ballots have been flagged across the state; Philadelphia's lists contain more than 1,300 names, most cited for missing or incorrect dates. Registered Democrats far outnumber Republicans in Philadelphia and also have tended to be more likely to vote by mail.

The big race up for grabs Tuesday is for Philadelphia mayor as Democrat Cherelle Parker is facing Republican David Oh.

It should be noted that this is only in Philadelphia. If you reside in another part of Pennsylvania, you should contact the Board of Election officials in your county if you feel you may have incorrectly submitted your ballot.

• Berks County Board of Elections
• Bucks County Board of Elections
• Chester County Board of Elections
• Delaware County Board of Elections
• Lehigh County Board of Elections
• Montgomery County Board of Elections
• Northampton County Board of Elections