Last Updated: 12/12/2023

Process Special Ballot Returns and Undeliverable Ballots

Special Ballot Returns

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.

The processing of these returned ballots updates voter records to indicate ballots were received and either accepted or rejected. The process also increments totals of returned mail ballots for reporting purposes.

Process special ballot returns:

Go to Ballot By Mail > Special Ballot Returns. The Find a Voter dialog displays.
On the Find a Voter dialog, search for the voter who returned the ballot. The Voter Search Result dialog displays a list of all voters who match your search criteria.
Double-click the correct voter or select the voter and click Select.

Note: In rare instances, you may see the Choose Ballot dialog after selecting the voter. This occurs when the election in focus is grouped with another election and the voter you selected was delivered a ballot for both elections in the group. This helps to ensure you process the ballot for the correct election.

If the voter was sent multiple ballots and none has been returned and processed, you are prompted to select the applicable ballot.

The Return Special Ballot dialog displays.

Note:

If the voter's ballot style has changed since the ballot was released, a message displays similar to the one below:

Click OK and refer to your county's procedure or Ballot Board to determine if further action is required to handle this discrepancy.

Accept or enter a different return date.
Select how the ballot was returned (Mail, Fax, or Email).
Do one of the following:
- Click Accept. Voters whose ballots are accepted will show Voted <date of acceptance> on the Ballot By Mail tab of their voter registration record.
- Select a value from the Rejection Reason list and click Reject.
  The following occurs:
  - The Voter Activity Date is updated to the current date and displayed on the Activity tab in Voter Maintenance.
  - A new row is added to the Ballot By Mail tab in Voter Maintenance indicating the request was rejected.
  - A notice of rejection, including the rejection reason, is scheduled to send to the voter.
Note: For ballots that are associated with a political party, whether the ballot is accepted or rejected, once the ballot is recorded, the party for that voter cannot be changed for the remainder of elections during the calendar year. Party affiliations can be cleared at the end of every calendar year in List Maintenance > List Maintenance Tasks.

Undeliverable Ballots

Ballots that are returned undeliverable are not scanned into the Voter Focus system nor are any notices scheduled for the voter in this case. You simply mark the ballot as undeliverable using the Special Ballot Returns program.