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About 2,500 ballots have issues ahead of Philadelphia primary election

Some mail-in ballots in danger of not being counted ahead of Philadelphia primary election
Some mail-in ballots in danger of not being counted ahead of Philadelphia primary election 02:34

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Many voters are still undecided, and some mail-in ballots are in danger of not being counted.

Candidates are making a last-minute push to win over those voters who still haven't made a decision about who they think should be the Democratic nominee for mayor.

Over 90,000 mail-in and absentee ballots went out before the primary election. 

As of Monday, about 2,500 ballots returned with some issue.

Although that may be a small percentage, every vote could make a big difference

As the clock ticks down to Election Day, Philadelphia voters are invested in several competitive races that will determine the future of the city.

"I'm very interested in the mayoral race," Susan Herron said. 

But Herron's ballot was close to going uncounted because of a minor mistake.

Herron says a friend found her name on the city commissioner's list of voters with undated ballots.

"I'd like to say there was something wrong with the ballot but the truth is I probably wasn't paying attention," Herron said.

Herron is among more than 2,500 voters who have issues with their mail-in and absentee ballots ahead of Tuesday's primary election.

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"I had to come back and redo the whole ballot," Sarah Johnston said. 

Deputy Commissioner Nick Custodio says the Philadelphia Board of Elections reports 1,712 are missing signatures, or not sent in the secrecy envelope provided in the packet or were undated ballots.

And another 825 need to verify identification by providing a driver's license number, photocopy of their ID, or the last four digits of their social security number.

"It's part of the election integrity process," Custodio said. "We try to make it as easy as possible. We have arrows on the envelope but for whatever reason we always get that percentage back."

Some voters told CBS News Philadelphia mail-in ballots aren't as simple as they may seem. 

"Senior citizens, lower income, lower literacy rates, are usually the ones we see this thing happening to. It's just that they're more vulnerable," Custodio said.

Custodio advises voters to track their ballot on the state department's website to confirm it was received.

Philadelphia officials are notifying voters by text and email.

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