Qualifying for an Absentee Ballot
The concept of voting “absentee” first came about during the Civil War as a way for soldiers to cast ballots back in their home states. The idea of allowing military voters to cast a ballot “in absentia” is still one of the driving factors for states allowing absentee ballots. All states, by federal law, are required to send absentee/mail ballots to military and overseas voters for federal elections (see the 1986 Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA)).
Aside from military and overseas voters, one third of the states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands only permit certain voters to request an absentee/mail ballot when they have an “excuse” for not being able to vote at the polls on Election Day. More details on these states can be found on Table 2: Excuses to Vote Absentee. Note that many states that require an excuse to obtain an absentee ballot do provide early voting opportunities for voters to cast a ballot in-person before Election Day.
Two-thirds of the states and Washington, D.C., have “no-excuse absentee” voting or automatically send mail ballots, which means any voter can request an absentee/mail ballot without providing an excuse, and eight states mail all voters a ballot.
For more details, visit Table 1: States with No-Excuse Absentee Voting.
What Are Acceptable Excuses to Vote Absentee in States That Require an Excuse?
All states permit voters who will be away from their home county to vote by absentee/mail ballot, as well as voters with an illness or disability who know ahead of time that they won’t be able to make it to the polls. It is also common to provide this option for older voters.
Many states also permit voters to request an absentee/mail ballot in case of an emergency, such as an unforeseen illness, confinement to a medical facility or an accident resulting in injury.
Beyond that, there are a variety of acceptable excuses in states, such as working during poll hours, serving as a poll worker or on a jury. These excuses are summarized in Table 2: Excuses to Vote Absentee.
Who Qualifies for Permanent Absentee Ballot Status?
Some states permit voters to join a permanent absentee/mail ballot voting list. Voters who request to be on this list will automatically receive an absentee/mail ballot for each election. This option may be offered to all voters, or to a limited number of voters based on certain criteria described below.
A permanent absentee list is sometimes known as a “single sign-up” option since a voter needs to sign up only once to receive an absentee/mail ballot for all future elections. A handful of states permit any voter to join a permanent absentee/single sign-up list and will mail that voter an absentee/mail ballot for each election.
- Other states permit voters with permanent disabilities to use a “single sign-up” option. In some cases, a note from a physician or other indication of a permanent disability may be required. Once on the list, the state sends these voters absentee/mail ballots.
- A few states also make this option available to senior voters.
Another handful of states automatically send absentee/mail ballot applications to voters on a permanent/single sign-up list. This differs from the category above since voters must return the application before receiving an absentee/mail ballot.
Find more information on Table 3: States with Permanent Absentee Voting Lists.
How and When Is a Voter Removed From a Permanent Absentee Ballot List?
Once voters opt onto a permanent absentee/mail ballot list, they are automatically mailed a ballot for subsequent elections.
Voters on a permanent list can be removed for a variety of reasons, such as inactivity for a set number of election cycles, death, loss of voting rights, return of an absentee/mail ballot or other election mail as undeliverable or upon the voter’s request. Visit Table 4: State Laws on Removing Voters From Permanent Absentee Lists for more details.
Requesting an Absentee Ballot
Most states, except for those that conduct mostly-mail elections, require voters to submit an application to obtain an absentee/mail ballot. The ways in which voters may request a ballot vary, as do the deadlines for submitting the application to the local election official. Some states also regulate who can distribute or collect applications to receive an absentee/mail ballot.
Once the application is received, states have a process for verifying that the application did indeed come from the intended voter; only after verification are ballots mailed to that voter. The timelines for delivering blank ballots to voters vary, with some states beginning the process 45 days (or more) before an election, and others delivering blank ballots within a month before the election.
Note: This section does not apply to the states that send ballots to all eligible voters because an application is not required.
How Can Voters Request an Absentee Ballot?
How voters may submit absentee/mail ballot applications varies by state. All states will permit a voter to submit an application by mail (usually via an official application form, which may be available online for download) or in person at a local election official’s office. Many states also allow applications by email (usually with a scanned application). In general, most states require the request to be in writing. Some states offer additional options, such as online portals or requests by phone, as well.
Some of these states used legislation to create this option and others did not. For more details, see Table 6: States with Online Absentee Ballot Application Portals.
Can Third-Party Individuals or Groups Distribute Absentee Ballot Applications and Collect Complete Applications?
As part of get-out-the-vote efforts or civic engagement programs, some organizations assist voters in requesting and returning absentee/mail ballot applications. Some states place restrictions on these activities by prohibiting third-party groups from distributing or collecting absentee/mail ballot applications, requiring third-party groups to register with the local election official, or designating deadlines or turnaround times for groups that do this work. These laws often require third-party groups to submit completed applications in a timely manner.
See Table 5: Applying for an Absentee Ballot, Including Third-Party Registration Drives for more details on each state’s absentee/mail ballot application distribution and collection laws.
What Are the Deadlines for Submitting an Absentee Ballot Application?
To have enough time to receive an absentee/mail ballot application, verify the information and send the ballot out, election officials usually need to receive applications a week or more before the election. Some states have statutory deadlines for absentee/mail ballot applications closer to the election, but if a voter applies too close to the election it’s unlikely that this is enough turnaround time to receive the ballot in the mail. In emergency cases, absentee ballots can be requested after these deadlines.
For more information on each state's laws, see Table 5: Applying for an Absentee Ballot, Including Third Party Registration Drives.
How Do Election Officials Verify Applications for Absentee Ballots?
Absentee/mail ballot applications require voters to provide identifying information—name, address, date of birth and often a signature, driver’s license number or the final four digits of the voter’s social security number.
When election officials receive an application from a voter, they use that information to verify the voter’s identity and eligibility before sending out the ballot. This is done in a variety of ways, most commonly by verifying the applicant’s information in the statewide voter registration database. States may also conduct signature verification at this stage to compare the voter’s signature on the application with the voter registration signature.
See Table 8: How States Verify Absentee Ballot Applications for more information.
When Are Absentee/Mail Ballots Sent to Voters Who Request Them?
After a voter has applied for an absentee/mail ballot and that application has been verified, election officials mail out the ballots. While a few states do not specify start dates for mailing ballots, in general, states begin mailing absentee/mail ballots during one of four time frames, as noted below:
- More than 45 days before the election.
- 45 days before the election.
- 30-45 days before the election.
- Fewer than 30 days before the election.
As absentee ballot applications arrive after the start date, election officials continue mailing out ballots throughout the run-up to the election, either for a designated period or right up until Election Day.
Visit Table 7: When States Mail Out Absentee Ballots for more information.
Which States Must Provide Secrecy Sleeves for Ballots?
Many states have statutory requirements detailing what election officials must include in the mailings that go out to voters who have requested absentee/mail ballots or who will receive mail ballots automatically. Some state require a secrecy sleeve—sometimes known as a privacy sleeve, inner envelope or identification envelope—a paper document intended to protect voters’ privacy by separating their identity and signature from their ballot. After completing an absentee/mail ballot, a voter places it inside the secrecy sleeve, which then goes inside the return envelope.
Other states or jurisdictions may choose to use secrecy sleeves, even if it is not statutorily required. In Maryland, for example, local election boards can choose whether to include them (MD Code, Election Law, § 9-310), and Colorado’s ballot mailings include an instruction sheet that can double as a secrecy sleeve if the voter so chooses.
The additional paper can increase the cost of ballot mailings, however. And secrecy sleeves may be unnecessary if the election jurisdiction has a different process to ensure a voter’s privacy when ballots are opened.
For more information, see Table 13: States that Must Provide Secrecy Sleeves for Absentee/Mail Ballots.
Returning a Voted Absentee/Mail Ballot
All states allow the return of absentee/mail ballots through the mail. Almost all states also permit voters to return a voted ballot in person at the office of the local election official (either the county election official or the town/city clerk, depending on who runs elections in the state). In addition, some states permit voters to drop off a voted absentee/mail ballot at Election Day voting locations or in secure drop boxes.
Which States Permit Voters to Drop Voted Absentee Ballots Off at Voting Locations?
Voters in almost all states can return a voted absentee/mail ballot at the county election official’s office. Some states also allow voters to return ballots at other voting locations, such as early in-person voting locations. Note: Ballot drop boxes, which may be located at polling places, are addressed in the next section.
More than a dozen states have statutes allowing voters to return ballots at voting locations, such as Election Day polling places, vote centers and early in-person voting locations.
Which States Have Laws Governing Ballot Drop Boxes?
Some states provide ballot drop boxes, secure receptacles where voters can return absentee/mail ballots in sealed and signed envelopes. The drop boxes may be supervised or unsupervised with security features, such as cameras. Many states that permit or require ballot drop boxes set minimum requirements for where they must be located, how many a county must or can have, hours they must be available and security standards.
For more information, see Table 9: Ballot Drop Box Laws.
Who Can Collect and Drop Off an Absentee/Mail Ballot on Behalf of a Voter?
Sometimes a voter is unable to return the ballot in person or get it to a postal facility in time for it to be counted. In these cases, the voter may entrust the voted ballot to someone else—an agent or designee—to return the ballot. Returning ballots for others is known as ballot collection or, pejoratively, as “ballot harvesting.”
More than half of the states explicitly permit someone to return an absentee/mail ballot on behalf of a voter.
- Many of these states limit this provision to a family member, household member or caregiver. Other states allow a voter to designate someone—often but not always a family member, household member or caregiver—to return their ballot for them.
- Among the states where a voter can authorize someone to return a ballot on their behalf, some place limits on how many and when ballots can be returned, and for how long ballots can remain in an authorized person’s possession. These limits may prevent those returning ballots for others from campaigning or encouraging voters to vote in a certain way.
- The remaining states either do not specify whether an agent or family member may return an absentee/mail ballot on behalf of a voter, or use more open language, such as a voter shall “cause” a ballot to be returned. Interpretations of what this means vary. In some states, it may mean absentee/mail ballot collection is generally accepted, and in others it may mean that this practice is not permitted.
- States may also restrict whether candidates or campaign staff can serve as a designated agent to return an absentee/mail ballot, impose crimes on those who violate ballot collection laws and more. States may also have different provisions for absentee voting in case of a personal emergency or for voters who require assistance.
Find more comprehensive information on Table 10: Ballot Collection Laws.
When Must Absentee/Mail Ballots be Received by Election Officials?
Absentee/mail ballots are typically returned by mail or hand delivery, and the most common deadline for absentee/mail ballots to be returned, regardless of the method, is by the close of polls on Election Day.
- More than half of the states require absentee/mail ballots returned by mail to be received on or before Election Day. These are colloquially known as “received by” states.
- A number of other states will accept and count a mailed ballot if it is received after Election Day but postmarked on or before (sometimes only before) Election Day. Because what constitutes a postmark is changing and less mail gets truly postmarked, many states will accept an Intelligent Mail barcode as evidence. These are colloquially known as “postmarked by” states.
See Table 11: Receipt and Postmark Deadlines for Absentee/Mail Ballots for details.
Which States Have Systems for Voters to Track Their Absentee/Mail Ballots?
The 2009 Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (MOVE) required states to develop a free access system by which military and overseas voters could determine whether their ballot had reached the election official and if the ballot had been counted. The MOVE Act also gave military and overseas voters additional options for returning ballots.
The MOVE Act didn’t necessarily mandate an online tracking system; a phone system would meet the requirement as well. But many states have developed online portals in the last several years. Increasingly, these have been expanded to all absentee/mail voters to track when their ballot has been sent out by election officials, when the election official receives the marked ballot back and whether the ballot was accepted for counting.
Some states may choose to notify voters that their ballot has cleared certain steps of the process. This may be in the form of a text message or an email informing the voter that the ballot has been mailed out, delivered to the voter’s home by the U.S. Postal Service, received by the election official, etc.
For information on states that mandate such a system in statute or administrative rule, and other states that maintain webpages for tracking absentee/mail ballots even if not required by statute contact the elections team.
Which States Pay for Postage To Return an Absentee/Mail Ballot?
In most cases, it is up to the voter to pay for postage to return an absentee/mail ballot envelope to the election official. Some see this as a barrier to returning a ballot or as a type of poll tax. One solution to this potential issue is to have ballot drop boxes widely available (see the section on drop boxes above). In states that hold mostly-mail elections, returning by drop box or in person is the most common return method. Another option is for election officials to pre-pay postage for voters to return their ballots.
- The U.S. Postal Service has a policy of prioritizing election mail, especially ballots, and will deliver a ballot envelope even if it does not have sufficient postage. Typically, though, the post office will bill the local election office for the price of postage. If most voters don’t affix postage, this could be a significant expense for a local election office.
For military and overseas voters, federal law specifies that ballots can be returned to election officials using a free postage-paid symbol when mailed from a U.S. Post Office, Military Postal Service Agency (APO/FPO) or U.S. Diplomatic Pouch Mail. However, if voters return the ballot through a foreign mail system or via common carrier (such as FedEx, DHL or UPS), they pay for that service themselves.
Find more details on Table 12: States With Postage-Paid Election Mail.