Chester County seeks explanation for pollbook error as it checks provisional ballots
Pennsylvania’s Chester County has reviewed more than two-thirds of the provisional ballots cast on Election Day, and confirmed that it has begun counting eligible ballots, though officials still cannot explain what caused a pollbook error that forced independent and third-party voters to use provisional ballots.
County officials said they hope to have the answer by December, after an investigation by an outside firm.
Pollbooks are the lists of registered voters that workers use to check in voters at the polling place. But pollbooks that Chester County distributed for Election Day omitted third-party and independent voters, forcing thousands of them to vote using provisional ballots. Provisional ballots require voters and election officials to take some additional steps, such as signing the envelope in the correct spot, or they will be rejected for technical reasons, and the ballots must undergo additional checks before they are counted.
More than 12,100 Chester County voters cast provisional ballots in last Tuesday’s election, more than in any other election in the county since at least 2016, according to state data.
https://www.votebeat.org/pennsylvania/2025/11/12/chester-county-pollbook-provisional-ballot-problem-2025-election/