Seeing "Record Ballot Returned" on Your Voting Status? Here's Why It's Totally Normal

After months of anticipation, Election Day 2024 is finally here. So, it's time to put on your sneakers and head to the nearest polling location to cast your vote in the presidential election — and all the other important races on the ballot!

For those of you who have already voted, kudos to you! However, this may also come with a bit of confusion. Some voters are seeing a status that reads "Record ballot returned," and wondering what that means. Here's what you need to know.

On Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, a person took to the Pennsylvania subreddit and asked about the "Record ballot returned" status, which they had encountered while checking the status of their mail-in ballot. They wrote, "I'm new to PA voting, and I dropped mine off the other day, and now it says: RECORD - BALLOT RETURNED. Like, why not say received? Anyone else get this as their status?"

Thankfully, many fellow Redditors reassured the OP that they had received the same message and that there was no cause for concern. It simply means the ballot has been received, but it can't be processed or counted until Election Day.

"It's the same message I received, you're all good," one Reddit user commented. "In [Penn.], they can't open and flatten the ballots until Election Day.. If there was a problem, you would see it."

However, several others pointed out the confusing and awkward wording of the status, urging states to reconsider the language to avoid confusing voters.

One person expressed frustration with the choice of words, saying, "I honestly can't help but think they do this intentionally to f--- with us. Like it's a practical joke. Why would anyone ever choose the verbiage 'returned' rather than 'received?' Especially seeing as many of us printed our ballots so we actually aren't 'returning' them."

The OP responded with a humorous but pointed comment, "Right? Imagine people getting confused and then going to the polling place on Tuesday and getting in trouble for trying to double vote."

So, if your status reads "Record ballot returned," there's no need to worry!