The law in Pennsylvania is specific.

Only registered voters can vote and have it officially counted in Pennsylvania elections.

That said, many unregistered voters go to the polls on Election Day, especially during presidential election cycles. What happens when they do?

The potential for nonregistered voters – be they citizens or not – to attempt to vote is present in every election and has been receiving a lot of attention lately – primarily from the GOP.

Citing an influx of immigrants in recent years at the U.S.-Mexico border, Republicans have raised numerous concerns about the possibility that noncitizens are and will be voting, despite the fact that such cases are rare. GOP officials have undertaken reviews of voter rolls, issued executive orders and placed constitutional amendments on state ballots as part of an emphasis on thwarting noncitizen voting.

In Pennsylvania, voters that are not registered tend to turn out in spite of that fact, particularly every four years when the office of President of the United States is on the ballot. And while there are occasions when an unregistered voter acknowledges that fact and leaves the polling location without casting ballot, often times they remain and insist upon receiving a ballot.

Wait? An unregistered voter gets a ballot? How can that happen?

Let me introduce you to the provisional ballot.

A provisional ballot looks like a regular ballot, feels like a regular ballot and can be considered a regular ballot if specific criteria is met. Let me explain.

Provisional ballots are used on Election Day. They are created for use by registered voters whose name does not appear in a poll book, as well as by those who may be registered and have their residency challenged by an election official. They are also available for those residents who may not be registered, but wish to challenge that fact with election officials onsite.

Other circumstances include, but are not limited to:

• The voter reported to the wrong precinct, or did not report a recent change in residence to the county election office.
• Voter is required to show ID but cannot do so.
• Voter was issued an absentee or mail-in ballot but believes that they did not successfully vote the ballot, and the ballot and outer return envelope were not surrendered at the polling place to be spoiled.
• Voter returned a completed absentee or mail‐in ballot that will be rejected by the county board of elections, and the voter believes they are eligible to vote.
• A special court order was issued with respect to the voter’s status.
• A special court order was issued related to extending the hours of voting.

In most county precincts, duly elected judges of election are instructed to provide a provisional ballot to those who insist that they are eligible to vote. This reduces the chances of a confrontation with a resident while also enabling the election office to take the necessary time to research the eligibility of that “voter.”

So, you’re saying that an unregistered voter CAN receive a ballot? Yes, but that doesn’t mean it counts.

Prior to voting the provisional ballot, the elector shall be required to sign an affidavit stating the following:

• I do solemnly swear or affirm that my name is __________, that my date of birth is __________, and at the time that I registered I resided at __________ in the municipality of __________ in __________ County of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and that this is the only ballot that I cast in this election.
• Signature of Voter/Elector
• Current Address
• Check the Reason for Casting the Provisional Ballot.
• Signed by Judge of Elections and minority inspector

After the provisional ballot has been cast, the individual shall place it in a secrecy envelope. The individual shall place the secrecy envelope in the provisional ballot envelope and shall place her/his signature on the front of the provisional ballot envelope. All provisional ballots shall remain sealed in their provisional ballot envelopes for return to the county board of elections.

It is also important to note that the ballots were created as “the ballot of last resort,” if you will. Provisionals are not able to run through optical scanners to ensure that an unregistered/ineligible resident is not able to cast their vote.

Once all the provisional ballots from each precinct are returned, they are kept separately to be reviewed by the county board of elections within seven days of the election. The review determines if the individual voting that ballot was entitled to vote at the polling place in the election.

If that determination is positive, the envelope is opened and the vote recorded with the Department of State. If the determination is that the voter was not properly registered, the envelope is not opened.

In 2020, one county in south-central Pennsylvania received more than 8,000 provisional ballots. A four-person team required nearly five days to properly review the provisionals and make the determination if they should be counted.

If one person reviews on average one provisional every minute for an entire eight-hour day, s/he would review 480 provisionals. Of course, that does not include personal breaks during the day nor cases where more time is required. If four people complete 480 in a day, that’s 1,920 ballots.

Now one might have a better understanding of why Pennsylvania does not complete its election counting in a close race such as the 2020 presidential contest on Election night. But that’s another story for another time.

And now one might have a better understanding of why visuals of noncitizens voting may not be rare, but the actual counting of those “votes” seldom if ever occurs.