Montgomery County Election Board adopts automatic ballot‑curing procedure before fall election

The Montgomery County Election Board on Aug. 20 approved an updated ballot-curing procedure that will automatically cancel and replace defective mail‑in ballots and send a new ballot to affected voters, along with instructions and an email alert if the county has an email on file.

Commissioner Winder said the policy is intended to ensure that "eligible voters should not be disenfranchised because of a small mistake that has no bearing on their registration status." County officials said the move followed research and practices adopted in other Pennsylvania counties; the presentation cited that in 2024 "nearly 44% of Montgomery County voters who submitted a deficient mail in ballot never had their vote counted," and staff told the board the automatic-cancel-and-replace approach improved cure rates elsewhere.

Under the new procedure, the county will retain the original ballot marked as canceled, send a replacement ballot the next day from the vendor, and continue automatic curing up until the Friday before Election Day; after that point voters will be notified to appear in Norristown to complete a cancel-and-replace or may vote by provisional ballot on Election Day. The board voted to adopt the updated procedures and to publish the policy and related schedules on the county website.