37,000 PA Primary Mail-In Ballots Rejected In 2020, Study Finds

PENNSYLVANIA — More than 37,000 mail-in ballots were rejected in this year's Pennsylvania primary due to errors made by voters, according to a new analysis by NPR.

More than 550,000 were rejected nationwide, topping the 318,728 ballots rejected in the 2016 general election.

Mistakes on ballots are much more likely to be made by first time mail-in voters, according to the report. These errors include missing signatures, signatures which do not match the one on record, or a ballot simply being sent in too late.

A recent survey of more than 6,000 Pennsylvania Patch readers found that while 55 percent planned to vote by mail in the upcoming election, 65 percent had concerns that their vote would not be received or properly counted.

The deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot is Oct. 27 in Pennsylvania, a week before the Nov. 3 general election. You can register to vote or apply for a mail-in ballot online here.

Pennsylvania has long been considered a crucial swing state for the upcoming presidential election. Former Vice President Joe Biden is a Scranton native, and set up his campaign quarters in Philadelphia. President Trump's narrow victory here over Hillary Clinton in 2016 was a decisive blow in his ultimate win, and he has campaigned in the state on multiple occasions in 2020, including last week.

>>PA Leaders Blast Changes At USPS, File Lawsuit Ahead Of Election

Election experts are concerned that errors on ballots could have an impact on the election, particularly in places like Pennsylvania, where Trump's margin of victory over Clinton in 2016 was about 44,000.

Republicans have continued to point to mail-in voting as unreliable, while Democrats have urged residents their ballot will be counted. However, in Pennsylvania, Gov. Wolf and Sen. Casey have been pushing to delay the counting deadline for all ballots to Nov. 6, three days after the election.

With reporting from Patch correspondent Russ Crespolini