What If Your Birthday Doesn't Match The One On Your Ballot?

We’re answering listener questions as part of ideastream’s Listen, Vote, Engage series, and one listener wants to know what happens if a voter’s birthday doesn’t match the birthday on file at the County Board of Elections.

The listener is helping a 94-year-old voter with her absentee ballot and found that her real birthday is different than the one on her ballot. 

To prevent voter fraud, the birthday and other required information must match the Board of Elections' records, said Cuyahoga County board spokesman Mike West.

If the birthday doesn’t match, board officials will call the voter to get the correct birthday and send a form to correct it.

That’s why it’s important to add a phone number on the ballot before returning it, so the Board of Elections can reach you if there are issues with your ballot.

If a voter can correct the information over the phone or return the form, the ballot will be counted.

West said this issue has come up before, and he gave an example of a woman who had two birthdays: her “real” one, and the one she told people so they would think she was younger.