Almost 100 million Americans have already cast their vote, many of them by mail or dropbox. And with early voting shattering records across the nation, ballots' signature verification process is under heavy scrutiny.

LA Times reporter Laura Nelson has written about the challenges election officials are facing, and who is more at risk for having their ballot rejected.

What You Need To Know

  • Almost 100 million Americans have already cast their vote, many of them by mail or dropbox

  • With record numbers of people voting by mail, this cycle, ballots thrown out for signature problems and other issues have the potential to decide races where the margin of victory is slim

  • Voters whose ballots are rejected aren’t always given the opportunity to correct, or cure, the issue

  • In some populous areas, like Los Angeles County and Clark County, Nev., a computer program takes the first pass at ballots, scanning for possible handwriting mismatches

More than half the states in the United States use some form of signature verification on mail-in ballots to make sure the right person is filling out their vote.

"The way that states address verifications of signatures varies by place. And, even with some states, the way that various counties handle the process has a variety," said Nelson

There are wide ranges in the amount of training required for election workers to perform this kind of work.

"In some states, they're required to take a class and pass a test to do it. In other states, there's no formal training at all. Some places use a computer to take the first pass to see how similar your signatures are, and states do it entirely by hand. Other states get weeks of lead-time to process these ballots, while other states have to wait until election day or a few days within election day to begin that work," added Nelson.

Experts that Nelson spoke with say voters should consider how their signatures can vary.

"I'm from Kansas, I grew up there, and you can get your learner's permit to drive at 14 years old. So the first signature they might have on file from you is when you're a freshman in high school. In California, you can drive as a teenager, so the signature they have from you is from many years ago. And, people's handwriting does change over time. That's true for young people who haven't figured out what they want their signature to look like yet. And, also, people who are aging that might have other conditions that will affect the appearance of their signature," said Nelson.

Related Stories

Some states must notify voters about signature errors, while other states won't notify voters until after the election.

"There was a recent ruling in Texas, where officials do not have to notify voters until after the deadline has already passed. That was the case in several states, but there's been a wave of litigation over the last 18 months. That has changed those procedures by adding what's called a 'notify and cure process.' So that means that if there's a problem with your ballot, the election officials have to tell you about it, and they have to give you a chance to fix it," said Nelson.

Fixing a signature issue involves having to fill out certain forms like an affidavit and provide some other type of identity verification.

"However, some states don't allow that cure-process to go on for too long. Or, they're not allowed to start processing ballots very early. So, it means there is a very condensed time frame for them to get in touch with voters and fix the problem. Again, with everything else in this process, there's a wide amount of variety depending on where you live and how the laws are applied locally," added Nelson.