US election official reveals surprising problem with young voters
n Nevada, thousands of US election mail-in ballots face rejection due to unmatched signatures, highlighting a surprising challenge, the Washington Post reported on Thursday.
Many young voters lack a consistent pen-to-paper signature. Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar told he newspaper. He says that 'Zoomers,' used to signing mostly on digital screens, don’t have recognizable hand writing.
The issue is amplified in a battleground state like Nevada, where close races could hinge on validated ballots.
Following automatic registration, digital signatures — often created on screens — are now linked to many voters’ profiles, making mismatches more likely. Aguilar points out that younger people especially “may not have a set signature developed yet,” leading to an increase in rejected ballots that need to be verified, or “cured,” before the November 12 counting deadline.
Election activist Debra Cleaver, founder of VoteAmerica, argues that this reliance on signatures is outdated, suggesting alternatives like using birth dates and partial social security numbers as unique identifiers.
“It’s a problem at scale,” she warns, noting that California has seen over 3% of ballots rejected due to handwriting mismatches, potentially impacting outcomes in tight races.
The process, Cleaver suggests, is increasingly impractical. “We file our taxes with electronic signatures. When you buy a house in the United States, you also use an electronic signature,” she explains. “This is a vestige of something antiquated.”
The need to cure ballots isn’t just affecting Zoomers. Aguilar adds that older voters and recently married voters, who might sign differently over time, face similar challenges. In response, Nevada officials are using text alerts, a method more likely to reach today's youth.
As of Thursday, Nevada has counted an estimated 94% of its ballots, with Donald Trump projected to win the state’s six electoral votes with 51% compared to Kamala Harris’ 47.2%.
Both US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have already reportedly called Trump to concede the election as the Republican candidate has secured at least 292 electoral college votes, compared to 224 for Harris. It takes 270 to win the White House.
