Signature struggle: US youth face vote verification hurdles
Gen Z's digital signatures are creating challenges in Nevada’s mail-in vote verification, prompting a new "signature cure" process to ensure every vote counts.
Over 13,000 voters who mailed in their votes in Nevada are required to verify their identities... or their votes will not count.
The above comes from the latest data from the Nevada Secretary of State’s Office.
Nevada prioritises accuracy in mail-in voting, using signature cures to help young and first-time voters verify ballots.
As Nevada’s election season progresses, the state has implemented a robust “signature cure” process for mail-in ballots to ensure that every vote is counted accurately.
As of 3pm on Tuesday, 5 November, approximately 13,317 mail-in ballots, representing 2.5% of all returned ballots, required verification of voter identity. So far, nearly 15,000 voters have successfully verified their signatures, with one in every 20 mail-in ballots needing this cure.
Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar noted that younger voters, especially those in Clark and Washoe counties (home to Las Vegas and Reno), make up the majority of ballots requiring cures.
“The signature that they have is the signature on their voter registration form and sometimes it’s in a digital form at the DMV. Or also it’s their paper registration or just their driver’s license. Those are their signatures and without a long history, it’s hard to compare their signatures.”
Aguilar explained, emphasising that many of these voters rely on digital signatures from their DMV or online voter registrations. This often results in signatures that are challenging to match with traditional pen-and-paper signatures.
To help voters resolve any discrepancies, the Clark County Election Department reaches out if a signature doesn’t match. However, voters need to provide a phone number or email to receive notifications about issues with their ballot signature. All voters in Nevada have until November 12 to verify their signatures, and they can check their ballot status through their county election office or at vote.nv.gov.
Aguilar, who has long been committed to youth voter engagement, explained that the need for signature verification extends beyond young voters. “Older voters may sign their names differently throughout their lives, and those who recently married may have a different name on their voter registration,” Aguilar noted.
In addition, the introduction of Automatic Voter Registration has increased the number of Nevada voters signing digitally at the DMV, often resulting in signatures that differ from hand-signed versions.
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