Curing Your Ballot FAQs

What does it mean to cure my ballot? Why has my ballot been rejected?

The county Board of Elections, in certain circumstances, will conduct extra comparison on your voter signature and inputed signature to ensure that you are voting under your name. However, your signature can change for various valid reasons. As a result, New Jersey has rejected thousands of ballots every election because of slight discrepencies in your signatures. In order to resolve this issue and have your vote counted, you can "cure" your ballot.

How do I cure my ballot?

(steps courtesy of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice)

1. If the county members believe your inputted signature does not match your voter signature, they are obligated to mail a notice to you within 24 hours. It must include a "Cure Letter" where you can complete a cure form.

2. After completing the Cure Form, you have declared that the ballot submitted under your signature was yours. You will need to verify your identity signing and dating the form along with providing one of the following identifications:

   1. NJMVC Driver's License Number

   2. Last four digits of your social security number

   3. State accepted ID (examples: sample ballot, official document, bank statement)

3. Return the Cure Form to your county in person, through fax, or by email no later than 15 days after the election date.

As long as you submitted your completed Cure Form in time and the information provided verifies your identity, your ballot will be counted. Your county will not conduct another signature match.