Harrisburg, PA – The Shapiro Administration capped a successful 2024 presidential election year by announcing a 57% decrease in the percentage of mail ballots rejected in the November general election compared to the April primary.
“Ensuring every registered Pennsylvania voter had the ability to cast their ballot and have that vote counted was a top priority in 2024 for the Shapiro Administration,” Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt said. “The many improvements the Administration made throughout the year helped to significantly reduce the number of voters who were disenfranchised because of a mistake made when completing their mail ballot materials.”
The November general election saw an overall voter turnout of 77%, with 2.2 million approved mail ballot applications and an 89% return rate for those mail ballots. Of the returned mail ballots, 1% were rejected, which was a 57% decrease from the April primary, when 2.4% were rejected.
Among the many changes the Administration implemented in 2024 were a year-long voter education initiative and a Department of State directive that required counties to preprint the full year on mail ballot return envelopes beginning with the November general election.
Of the roughly 1% of mail ballots rejected in the 2024 general election, the most common reasons for rejection were:
- receipt after the 8 p.m. deadline on Election Day (33%),
- incorrect or missing date (23%),
- lack of a signature (17%), and
- lack of a secrecy envelope (15%).
In addition to a voter education initiative and the directive requiring the full year be preprinted on the outer mail ballot return envelope, the Shapiro Administration made other efforts to simplify the process of voting by mail and better inform the public on how to properly cast a mail ballot, including:
- Introducing redesigned mail ballot instruction materials.
- Providing a redesigned, user-friendly online mail ballot application and a streamlined application process.
- Encouraging young voters to participate through the Pennsylvania Campus Voting Challenge.
- Partnering with the Pennsylvania Department of Aging to provide older voters with trustworthy information about voting by mail.
- Educating all Pennsylvanians on voting by mail and on election security through a digital ad campaign.
Schmidt emphasized that the Department will continue its work to decrease the percentage of rejected mail ballots during this year’s municipal elections.
“While the Shapiro Administration is pleased with these improved numbers for 2024,” Schmidt said, “the Department of State will continue to work with county elections officials to ensure every eligible Pennsylvanian’s legally cast vote can be counted in 2025.”
Official vote totals for all statewide races can be found on the Department’s website. For more information on voting in Pennsylvania, call the Department of State's year-round voter hotline at 1-877-VOTESPA, visit vote.pa.gov, or follow #ReadytoVotePA on social media.