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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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FACT BRIEF

Did Pennsylvania's elections chief violate the state's rules by extending a deadline for curing ballots?

By Bakar Wilson
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YES

Kathy Boockvar, Pennsylvania's Secretary of State, exceeded her authority when she extended a deadline in this year's general election, according to a state court ruling on Nov. 12. Boockvar had attempted to add three more days for voters to "cure"—correct—mailed-in ballots where their identity was in question. Pennsylvania's election code states clearly that if a voter can't provide the needed proof of identification "by the sixth calendar day following the election" then the ballot won't be counted.

The number of ballots affected by the ruling was estimated at no more than a few thousand, and may not have been included in the published vote count. The total would not be enough to change the outcome of Pennsylvania's presidential choice, as Joe Biden is leading Donald Trump by more than 66,000 votes.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
AP: Court blocks small number of ballots in Pennsylvania over ID
CBS Pittsburgh: Judge bars Pennsylvania state secretary from extending deadline to ‘cure’ certain mail-In ballots
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: Election code (see p. 163)
AP: What is a 'cured' ballot?
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Gigafact
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.