Signed, Sealed… and Missing a Signature? How Nonprofits Can Help Voters Get It Right With Ballot Curing

As I dropped off my mail in ballot, I couldn’t help but wonder… what if I made a mistake?

This year with 60 million mail in ballots sent out to voters and 19 million already returned, almost a third of the vote is expected to come through the mail. Many voters mail their ballots off on a wing and a prayer, not knowing if they have made an error or followed the (sometimes new, complicated) requirements to have their vote count.

Fear not! In many states, voters have a chance to correct certain errors through a process called ballot curing, and nonprofits can help!

What did I do wrong?

Ballot curing is a way of correcting clerical errors that are usually accidental and not made in bad faith. Most commonly, this could be not signing the envelope or a signature that doesn’t match what is on file with the state. However, in some states, more stringent signature or ID requirements meant to “protect” the integrity of the election can result in more valid votes being rejected. Across the country, sometimes a witness or two witnesses (Alabama and North Carolina) are required to sign the mail in ballot. In other states, like Mississippi, Missouri, and Oklahoma, a notary must sign. Some states also require information about any person who has assisted the voter in completing their ballot. Many of these laws are new and may not be familiar to voters. Arkansas, for example, has a new law passed in 2025 requiring a witness signature, and the state currently has no process in place to cure if this new requirement is not met.

What are the rules? 

Thirty-five states and the District of Columbia have established statewide procedures to cure ballots, usually through legislation, but the other 15 states do not have processes in place. For the states that do permit ballot curing, most require an attempt to contact the voter, an explanation of the issue, and an established timeline for the voter to fix the error. The exact fix available can vary by state. In some states, voters will need to complete a new ballot. Other states have voters correct their prior ballot or go in person to provide information and verify their identity. In Connecticut, a missing signature must be cured by the time polls close on election day. In Arizona, the voter has 5 days after the election to fix the error, and the voter in California has 22 days. When the states can start validating ballots, how quickly the voter needs to be contacted (immediately, within 2 days, no timeline), and how long they have to remedy the error varies widely. The National Conference of State Legislatures offers a helpful chart of the states that offer ballot curing.

What can nonprofits do? 

Like voter registration, voter education, and get out the vote work, nothing about ballot curing work is inherently partisan, which means all nonprofits, including 501(c)(3)s, are free to engage in ballot curing work in alignment with their missions. Nonprofits can help voters track their ballots using state tools, understand the curing process, and be aware of any timelines to fix ballot errors. Be sure to follow applicable state voter-assistance rules and remember, the IRS definition of partisan only prohibits 501(c)(3)s from supporting or opposing candidates or parties. To make sure ballot curing stays nonpartisan, a (c)(3) should make sure to not tie the ballot curing effort to supporting any one candidate or party and equally help voters correct ballot errors regardless of who their vote was for.

For 501(c)(4)s, nonpartisan ballot curing could be an opportunity for primary purpose activity, but (c)(4)s also have the opportunity to engage with ballot curing advocacy as an effort to support one party or candidate in their partisan secondary purpose space. For example, they can target their assistance and education to voters based on their party affiliation. This would still need to be independent of the candidate or party and not in coordination to abide by campaign finance rules.

For the states that do not have ballot curing laws in place, most nonprofits can get involved with supporting new legislation. 501(c)(3) public charities can lobby their elected officials and help draft legislation, just remember to track and report lobbying to the IRS on your annual 990, to stay within your lobbying limits, and to follow any state-level lobbying disclosure laws. Check out our guide, Being a Player, for a refresher on the rules that apply to public charity lobbying and for more information on how to measure your lobbying limits. 501(c)(4)s may lobby in an unlimited amount, which makes them an excellent choice to spearhead new ballot curing legislation and processes.

When states are silent on ballot curing, nonprofits can engage in regulatory or administrative advocacy to persuade state regulators to enact a curing-like procedure, which would not need to be counted as lobbying work. Ensuring a curing law is applied correctly by election administrators can also be non-lobbying, nonpartisan advocacy.

Nonprofits can always engage in education before votes are submitted to prevent the need for curing in the first place. They can help voters understand the timeline for returning ballots, signature requirements, and identification requirements. This is especially crucial in states where there is no curing process! It’s important to know what ballot curing is not—it cannot correct an improper vote or the content of the vote. Nonprofits can help by educating voters about things like ranked choice voting and how to properly fill out ballots (while remaining nonpartisan as to who they vote for).

Every vote matters, and nonprofits have a great opportunity to make sure every voice is heard and every vote is counted in this year’s election.