Discussion
After the polls close, the election outcome is generally determined, and it’s just a matter of letting the count proceed and waiting for the results. But one exception is provisional ballots, where campaigns continue their GOTV efforts to encourage those who voted that way to cure their ballots before the deadline.
Mississippi’s senate seat is likely to be decided by provisional ballots this year, so we’re seeing a lot of this activity now.
And “cured” here means following the process for fixing whatever prevented the voter from being allowed to cast a regular ballot. So it’s “cured” as in curing an illness, not curing epoxy.
@mattblaze Thank you for these details.
@mattblaze are the provisional ballots opened and counted or do they just sit in sealed envelopes, basically as a precommitment to a specific vote?
Also, doesn't this allow the voter a form of asymmetric information and power in their decision making that is usually frowned upon? I.e. couldn't you theoretically construct a scenario where a single voter could decide the election outcome by either curing or not curing their vote strategically?
@sophieschmieg yes, each ballot stays sealed until cured. (They have to do it this way because the ballots themselves don’t identify the voter.)
@sophieschmieg And you’re right that this gives provisional voters more information than other voters have before deciding whether to commit their votes.
“GOTV” = “Get Out The Vote”