2 Percent Of Mail-In Ballots Were Rejected In State Primary

MASSACHUSETTS — Almost 2 percent of all mail-in ballots cast in the state primary were rejected for reasons ranging from late delivery to missing signatures, meaning nearly 18,000 ballots weren't counted during the state's first foray into no-excuse, mail-in voting.

Still, that means more than 98 percent of the 814,013 mail-in ballots were properly counted, and most that were rejected appeared to be due to some form of voter error.

The revelations came after The Boston Globe requested data from Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin's office.

In all, 17,872 ballots were rejected ahead of a general election that is expected to see millions more votes cast, many by mail.

The reasons given for the majority of ballots being tossed appeared to be related to some sort of voter error, whether it was either 8,419 ballots arriving past the deadline or 3,124 ballots that showed up without signatures on the ballot envelopes (or the envelopes were missing.)

The Globe said 3,029 were considered “failed delivery," meaning ballots either never made it to the voter or election office.

About 1,100 more ballots were tossed for "other" reasons, The Globe said.

The state primary saw almost half out of the 1.7 million ballots cast via mail, a record. It was by and large deemed a success by Galvin, calling it a "positive experience."

But some local election officials were overwhelmed by the flood of mail-in ballots, of which there will be many more in November. Franklin Town Clerk Teresa Burr resigned after 3,000 mail-in ballots were found (and later counted) after Election Day. She called it "the most challenging election cycle of my career."

Ballots needed to arrive by the time polls closed Election Day, the state's Supreme Judicial Court ruled after a congressional candidate sued to extend the primary deadline.

Voters and election officials will have some leeway for the general election, though: Ballots postmarked by Nov. 3 and received by Nov. 6 will be counted. Here's everything to know about mail-in voting in Massachusetts.

The Globe published its story shortly before President Trump took the debate stage and once again cast doubt on the fairness of the presidential election due to mail-in ballots — though seemingly only if he were to lose. Several fact-checking news agencies disputed most of his mail-in voting claims.