Voting by mail in the U.S.

Understanding the U.S. Election

Voting by mail

Voting by mail in the U.S.

How the COVID-19 pandemic has brought the concept of voting by mail to the forefront of political discussion.

Published Sept. 8, 2020

Voting by mail, often known as “absentee” voting, exists in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia in various forms. The practice dates back to the Civil War, when lawmakers wanted to allow soldiers to vote from the battlefield.

Throughout the following century, states designated mail ballots as an accommodation for voters who were far from their polling place on election day or were otherwise unable to vote in person. That changed when California enacted a “no excuse” vote-by-mail policy in the 1980s, which allowed any voter to vote by mail without needing to offer justification.

The process

Request your ballot

In states where ballots are not sent to registered voters automatically, the voter requests a ballot by phone, web or mail. The local election authority sends the ballot to the voter at the address provided.

Cast your vote

The voter receives a ballot, an envelope in which to seal the ballot and an envelope to send the sealed ballot back in. After the voter marks their choices on the ballot, they seal the ballot, sign the outside of the ballot envelope and then seal the signed ballot in the second envelope. The voter may mail the sealed ballot back to the local election authority or drop it off in person.

Your vote is verified

When the election authority receives the sealed ballot, they verify the voter is registered in the given state and is casting their ballot from the address at which they are registered. In many states, they also compare the voter’s signature on the ballot to their signature on the voter roll.

Your vote is processed

Sometime after receiving the ballot, the election authority processes and tallies the vote. The timeline for this varies by state, with some beginning the process two weeks before election day and others waiting until election day itself. It is also up to the state to set the ballot return deadline.

Request your ballot

In states where ballots are not sent to registered voters automatically, the voter requests a ballot by phone, web or mail. The local election authority sends the ballot to the voter at the address provided.

Cast your vote

The voter receives a ballot, an envelope in which to seal the ballot and an envelope to send the sealed ballot back in. After the voter marks their choices on the ballot, they seal the ballot, sign the outside of the ballot envelope and then seal the signed ballot in the second envelope. The voter may mail the sealed ballot back to the local election authority or drop it off in person.

Your vote is verified

When the election authority receives the sealed ballot, they verify the voter is registered in the given state and is casting their ballot from the address at which they are registered. In many states, they also compare the voter’s signature on the ballot to their signature on the voter roll.

Your vote is processed

Sometime after receiving the ballot, the election authority processes and tallies the vote. The timeline for this varies by state, with some beginning the process two weeks before election day and others waiting until election day itself. It is also up to the state to set the ballot return deadline.

Request your ballot

In states where ballots are not sent to registered voters automatically, the voter requests a ballot by phone, web or mail. The local election authority sends the ballot to the voter at the address provided.

Cast your vote

The voter receives a ballot, an envelope in which to seal the ballot and an envelope to send the sealed ballot back in.

 

After the voter marks their choices on the ballot, they seal the ballot, sign the outside of the ballot envelope and then seal the signed ballot in the second envelope. The voter may mail the sealed ballot back to the local election authority or drop it off in person.

Your vote is verified

When the election authority receives the sealed ballot, they verify the voter is registered in the given state and is casting their ballot from the address at which they are registered. In many states, they also compare the voter’s signature on the ballot to their signature on the voter roll.

Your vote is processed

Sometime after receiving the ballot, the election authority processes and tallies the vote. The timeline for this varies by state, with some beginning the process two weeks before election day and others waiting until election day itself. It is also up to the state to set the ballot return deadline.

Request your ballot

In states where ballots are not sent to registered voters automatically, the voter requests a ballot by phone, web or mail. The local election authority sends the ballot to the voter at the address provided.

Cast your vote

The voter receives a ballot, an envelope in which to seal the ballot and an envelope to send the sealed ballot back in. After the voter marks their choices on the ballot, they seal the ballot, sign the outside of the ballot envelope and then seal the signed ballot in the second envelope. The voter may mail the sealed ballot back to the local election authority or drop it off in person.

Your vote is verified

When the election authority receives the sealed ballot, they verify the voter is registered in the given state and is casting their ballot from the address at which they are registered. In many states, they also compare the voter’s signature on the ballot to their signature on the voter roll.

Your vote is processed

Sometime after receiving the ballot, the election authority processes and tallies the vote. The timeline for this varies by state, with some beginning the process two weeks before election day and others waiting until election day itself. It is also up to the state to set the ballot return deadline.

Policies by state

Today, around 84% of eligible voters can vote by mail without an excuse, or by citing concerns of contracting or spreading COVID-19 as their excuse in the November election. In more states than ever, election authorities will automatically send a ballot to each registered voter.

Among eligible voters:

21.4%

can automatically vote by mail

46.7%

will not need an excuse

14%

can use COVID-19 as an excuse

16%

will need an excuse

Categorizations of each state are as of Sept. 3, 2020. Voting-eligible population percentages were calculated based on numbers from the United States Election Project, which tabulates the voting-age population while accounting for various restrictions by state.

All by mail

21.4% of U.S. voting-eligible population

Registered voters in 10 states and jurisdictions are automatically sent blank ballots, without needing to request them. Five of these adopted this type of voting procedure for at least the 2020 General Election due to COVID-19.

Colorado

Hawaii

Oregon

Utah

Washington

California

D.C.

Nevada

New Jersey

Vermont

No excuse needed

46.7% of U.S. voting-eligible population

In 26 states, most registered voters must request a ballot, but do not need a justification for not voting in-person. Most counties in Montana will be conducting all by mail elections.

Alaska

Arizona

Florida

Georgia

Idaho

Illinois

Iowa

Kansas

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Montana

Nebraska

New Mexico

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio

Oklahoma

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Dakota

Virginia

Wisconsin

Wyoming

COVID-19 is an excuse

14% of U.S. voting-eligible population

9 states have traditionally required an excuse to vote by mail and have specified that concerns of contracting or spreading COVID-19 qualify as an excuse.

Alabama

Arkansas

Connecticut

Delaware

Kentucky

Missouri

New Hampshire

New York

West Virginia

Excuse needed

16% of U.S. voting-eligible population

6 states require an excuse to vote by mail and have not designated general concern for contracting or spreading COVID-19 as a proper excuse. Mississippi and Tennessee both provided some COVID-19 precautions as excuses to vote by mail without fully allowing concerns of contracting or spreading the virus as a valid excuse.

Indiana

Louisiana

Mississippi

South Carolina

Tennessee

Texas

Editing by Christine Chan, Soyoung Kim and Leslie Adler.

Note: Calculations for U.S. voting-eligible population come from Michael McDonald's U.S. Election Project. On September 2, 2020, a Mississippi court ruled that those with an underlying condition that would make them more susceptible to COVID-19 could vote absentee. Tennessee similarly provided a list of underlying conditions that could make a voter more susceptible to COVID-19 to its list of excuses to vote by mail. Neither state was included in the "COVID-19 is an excuse" category, as general concern of contracting or spreading COVID-19 was not specified as an excuse.

Sources: National Conference of State Legislatures; U.S. Election Project; Brookings Institution; State websites