About Returned Ballots

After ABBM requests and FPCA requests are processed as accepted, ballots can be delivered to voters. Voter Focus processes the ballots that are returned by voters as either accepted or rejected.

ABBM Ballot Returns

  1. Scan Return Envelopes

Mail ballot returned envelopes include a section for the voter’s signature and bar code. The envelopes must be scanned and the image indexed to the corresponding voter based on the bar code.

Once mail ballot return envelopes are processed, Voter Focus updates voter records to indicate their ballot was received and either accepted or rejected. The scanned image of the envelope will be indexed to the voter’s record for both Signature Verification Committee (SVC) purposes as well as for voter history and information reporting.

To review how to scan mail ballot returned envelopes and release the images to the Return Ballots Queue for verification, see Scan Mail Ballot Returned Envelopes.

  1. Bad Envelope Image Queue

When return envelopes are scanned or imported, there may be times when a bar code could not be located or is unreadable due to poor image quality or a physical tear or flaw. The Bad Envelope Image Queue allows you to manually associate an image to an election and a ballot, which also indexes that image to a voter.

To review how to manually associate an image with a voter, election, and ballot, see Process Bad Envelope Images.

  1. Returned Ballots Queue

Texas law requires that the Signature Verification Committee (SVC) compares the signature image(s) from the voter’s record to the signature on the voter’s mail ballot returned envelope. After you clip the ABBM signature and scan the envelope in Voter Focus and the images are indexed to the voter, the SVC members compare signatures side by side using the Returned Ballots Queue to confirm the signatures are those of the same voter.

To review how to compare the signatures, see Process Returned Ballots.

  1. Ballot Judge Queue

During the Returned Ballots Queue validation, questions may occur as to whether the signature(s) from the voter's record and return envelope signature match. Most Texas counties require the county Ballot Board make the final determination.

If signatures from the voter's record and mail ballot returned envelope do not or may not match, the images are moved to the Ballot Judge Queue. Ballot judges review this queue for final determination on ballot acceptance.

To review how to accept or reject signatures that are in question, see Compare Signatures in the Ballot Judge Queue.

Important: This queue is only available when Allow Rejection in Return Ballots Queue is not selected on the System Options > Ballot By Mail tab. This system option is selected for counties that reject ballots from the Return Ballots Queue instead of routing ballots with questionable and invalid signatures to the Ballot Judge Queue for review by an EVBB judge. Selecting this system option removes the Ballot Judge Queue from the Ballot By Mail tab.

FPCA/FWAB Ballot Returns

Process Special Ballots

Certain special ballots that are returned by voters are recorded for historical purposes. The voter signature validation for FPCA and FWAB ballots is done outside of the Voter Focus System. To record these ballots, the Special Ballot Returns process in Voter Focus assigns the following to voter records:

  • Ballots returned by voter's who requested the ballots using an FPCA (Federal Postcard Application). For more information, see Process FPCA Applications.
  • The return of Federal Write-in Absentee Ballots (FWABs) that serve as backup ballots if voters do not receive a requested absentee ballot in time.

To review how the processing of returned special ballots updates voter records to indicate ballots were received and either accepted or rejected, see Process Special Ballot Returns.