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Summary Table 1: States with No-Excuse Absentee Voting

Updated July 12, 2022
Related Topic: Elections

Twenty-seven states and Washington, D.C., offer "no-excuse" absentee voting, which means that any voter can request and cast an absentee/mail ballot, no excuse or reason necessary.

Eight states conduct elections entirely by mail (California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Vermont and Washington), which means voters do not need to request a ballot, and instead automatically receive one.

The remaining states require a voter to provide an excuse to qualify for an absentee/mail ballot. See Table 2: Excuses to Vote Absentee for details.

 
States with No-Excuse Absentee Voting
State Statute Details
Alaska Alaska Stat. § 15.20.010 No-excuse absentee voting
Arizona Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 16-541 No-excuse absentee voting
California Cali. Elec Code § 3000.5 All-mail elections
Colorado Colo. Rev. Stat. §1-5-401 All-mail elections
District of Columbia D.C. Mun. Regs. Tit. 3, § 720 No-excuse absentee voting
Florida Flor. Stat. § 101.62 No-excuse absentee voting
Georgia Georgia Code § 21-2-380 No-excuse absentee voting
Hawaii Hawaii Stat. §11-101 All-mail elections
Idaho Idaho Code §34-1001 No-excuse absentee voting
Illinois 10 ILCS 5/19-1 No-excuse absentee voting
Iowa Iowa Code § 53.1 No-excuse absentee voting
Kansas Kan. Stat. Ann.§ 25-1119(a) No-excuse absentee voting
Maine 21-A ME Rev Stat § 751 No-excuse absentee voting
Maryland Md. Elec Law §9-304 No-excuse absentee voting
Massachusetts M.G.L.A. 54 § 25B No-excuse absentee voting
Michigan M.C.L.A. 168.759 No-excuse absentee voting
Minnesota Minn. Stat. § 203B.02 No-excuse absentee voting
Montana Mont. Code § 13-13-201 No-excuse absentee voting
Nebraska Neb. Rev. Stat. Ann. §32-938 No-excuse absentee voting
Nevada NRS §293 All-mail elections
New Jersey N.J. Rev. Stat. § 19:63-3 No-excuse absentee voting
New Mexico N.M. Stat. § 1-6-3 No-excuse absentee voting
North Carolina N.C. Gen Stat § 163-226 No-excuse absentee voting
North Dakota N.D. Cent. Code § 16.1-07-01 No-excuse absentee voting
Ohio Ohio Rev Code § 3509.02 No-excuse absentee voting
Oklahoma 26 OK Stat § 14-105 No-excuse absentee voting
Oregon Ore. Rev. Stat. §254.465 All-mail elections
Pennsylvania 25 P.S. § 3150.11 No-excuse absentee voting
Rhode Island R.I. Gen Laws § 17-20-2

No-excuse absentee voting

(Rhode Island lists several excuses to vote absentee, but also specifies “No specific reason necessary.” Since any Rhode Islander can request an absentee ballot, NCSL has categorized it as no excuse required.)
South Dakota S.D. Cod. Laws § 12-19-1 No-excuse absentee voting
Utah Utah Code Ann. §20A-3a-302 All-mail elections
Vermont 17 VSA § 2537a All-mail elections (general elections only)
Virginia VA Code Ann. § 24.2-700 No-excuse absentee voting
Washington Rev. Code of Wash. 29A.40.010 All-mail elections
Wisconsin Wis. Stat. § 6.86 (1)(ac) No-excuse absentee voting
Wyoming WY Stat § 22-9-102 No-excuse absentee voting

Note: This page should be used for general informational purposes only.

Our organization does not run elections and cannot provide legal advice. If you are a voter looking for assistance, please contact your local election official. You can find your local election official's website and contact information by using this database from the US Vote Foundation.

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