Forsyth County had one of the highest numbers in the state for provisional ballots cast in the March 5 primary election.
On Super Tuesday a total of 513 provisional ballots were cast at precincts in Forsyth County, more than three times the number in Guilford, and outpacing all other counties minus Wake with just over 1,300. In the November 2020 election in North Carolina, roughly 40% of all provisional ballots cast were either fully or partially approved.
Provisional ballots come into play when a voter’s name does not appear on the voter registration rolls, or questions pop up about eligibility. In each of these cases, a provisional application is completed by the voter and that information is later verified by the county boards of elections.
When an in-person voter is unable to present the correct form of photo ID, the voter casts a provisional ballot and either completes a Photo ID Exception Form or returns to their county board of elections with their ID by a prescribed deadline — in this case, 5 p.m. on March 14.