HARRISBURG, Pa. – Governor Josh Shapiro says his administration’s efforts to redesign provisional ballot envelopes have led to a decrease in the number of ballots rejected.
According to a news release issued Friday, the November 2025 election saw an 11.3% decrease in the number of ballot rejections due to envelope errors compared to the November 2024 election. Officials credit the drop to the redesigned envelopes.
The update was a collaborative effort between the state and elections officials in Philadelphia, Berks, Butler, Mercer, and Greene counties. Feedback from those counties highlighted the need for more user-friendly envelopes for both voters and poll workers.
The envelopes for provisional ballots now clearly identify which fields voters must fill out, including highlighting the two places where the voter must sign. The envelopes also clearly mark which fields election workers are to fill out.
“Our goal remains ensuring every registered voter in our Commonwealth can cast their vote and have it counted in every election,” said Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt.
“As with the changes to mail ballot materials two years ago, these improvements resulted in more registered voters being able to make their voices heard in November’s election,” he added.
4.40% of provisional ballots were rejected for envelope errors during the November 2025 election, a decrease compared to the 4.96% rejection rate during the November 2024 cycle. 
For more information on voting in Pennsylvania, including mail and provisional ballots, visit vote.pa.gov or call the Department of State’s year-round voter hotline at 1-877-VOTESPA.