No, you can’t change your vote after your ballot has been processed

But what happens if you voted early and then have a change of heart? Some people online are wondering if it’s too late to change their vote before Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 5. 

THE QUESTION

Can you change your vote after your ballot has been processed?

THE SOURCES

THE ANSWER

No, you cannot change your vote after your ballot has been processed. 

WHAT WE FOUND

It’s impossible to change your vote once your ballot has been scanned or opened, elections experts told VERIFY. 

When people vote in person, they often run their ballot through a scanner at a polling place. Once someone does that, their vote is set in stone, according to Wendy Underhill, director of elections and redistricting for the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).

If someone votes by mail, an election worker has to process their ballot before it can be counted, the Brennan Center for Justice explains. This procedure varies by state, but it usually involves confirming a voter’s identity, verifying that they are registered and eligible to vote, and checking the signature on their ballot. After that information is verified, the ballot is removed from its envelope. 

Once a ballot is processed, “there is no way for a voter to change their mind and cast an alternative ballot,” Rachel Orey, director of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Elections Project, said.

That’s because processed ballots are “anonymized” to protect the right to cast a secret ballot, Sylvia Albert, director of voting and elections with Common Cause, a national voting rights organization, explained. 

“It can no longer be connected to an individual voter and therefore cannot be identified and removed to allow a voter to change their vote,” Albert said. 

According to the NCSL, 43 states allow election officials to begin processing absentee and mail-in ballots before the election. In seven other states and Washington, D.C., election officials can begin to process ballots before the polls close on Election Day, the NCSL says. 

Only a few states have procedures for replacing your original mail-in ballot in certain circumstances, but that only applies if your ballot hasn’t been processed and you meet their deadlines.

You can track your mail-in ballot in most states. Anyone who is hoping to request a new ballot should first use a tracking tool to check its status and then contact their local elections office for guidance if it hasn’t been processed, Orey said.