This paper argues that differences in the acceptability of verb phrase ellipsis (VPE) with voice mismatch, previously attributed to processing effects (Grant et al. 2012), can be accounted for in terms of a standard, focus-based (Rooth 1992a) condition on ellipsis (Rooth 1992b). In short, ellipsis licensing cannot be contradictory. This perspective is compatible with voice mismatches being fundamentally grammatical (Merchant 2013 vs Arregui et al. 2006); encompasses other ameliorating factors; and extends to symmetrical VPE (Stockwell 2017).