FACT SHEET: Proper Identification for Mail-In Ballots

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO ENSURE PROPER IDENTIFICATION FOR MAIL-IN BALLOTS?

Ballot signature matching is not reliable. Verifying a ballot’s validity by this method is too subjective—it relies on an election worker’s judgment over an objective process. Voters need a new way.

66,360 MAIL-IN BALLOTS WERE REJECTED DUE TO SIGNATURE MISMATCH IN THE 2018 GENERAL ELECTION. PEOPLE OFTEN USE DIFFERENT SIGNATURES IN DIFFERENT SITUATIONS, WHICH CAN LEAD TO IMPROPER BALLOT REJECTIONS.

INSTEAD OF USING SIGNATURE MATCHING, MAIL-IN BALLOTS SHOULD VERIFY THE SENDER’S IDENTITY BY REQUIRING THE VOTER TO USE ANOTHER FORM OF IDENTIFICATION.

Any of the three options below would ensure that a ballot is accurately matched to the voter and would protect against identity theft and wrongful discarding of ballots:

1. Driver’s License Number
2. Last Four Digits of Social Security Number
3. Number on Voter ID Card

Three states (Georgia, Minnesota, and Ohio) already require voters to use one of these three forms of identification instead of using their signatures.

Voter turnout, including voting by mail, remains high in these states. Mail-in ballot identification requirements protect the voter’s identity and help make it easy to vote and hard to cheat.