Everything you need to know about ranked-choice voting in one spot. Click to learn more!

Absentee/mail-in ballot return deadlines, 2023

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search


2024 »
« 2022

Election Policy VNT Logo.png

Early voting
Absentee/mail-in voting
All-mail voting
Voter ID laws

2025 election and voting dates
Voter registration deadlines
Early voting dates
Absentee/mail-in ballot request deadlines
Absentee/mail-in ballot return deadlines
State poll opening and closing times

Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker

Select a state from the menu below to learn more about its voting policies.


Absentee/mail-in voting is voting that does not happen in person on Election Day but instead occurs another way (generally by mail). All states allow for some form of absentee/mail-in balloting. Some states require voters to provide a valid excuse to vote absentee/by mail, while others allow any eligible voter to cast an absentee/mail-in ballot.[1][2]

This article lists absentee/mail-in ballot return deadlines for the primary and general election cycles in states holding statewide elections in 2023. For additional information about absentee/mail-in voting, see this article.

Absentee/mail-in ballot return deadlines for 2023 primary elections

The table below summarizes the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadlines and the type of deadlines for primary elections in 2023.

Absentee/mail-in ballot return deadlines for primary elections, 2023
State Election date In-person return deadline Mail return deadline Mail return deadline type
Kentucky 5/16/2023 5/16/2023 5/16/2023 Received
Louisiana 10/14/2023 10/13/2023 10/13/2023 Received
Mississippi 8/8/2023 8/8/2023 8/8/2023 Postmarked
Mississippi 8/29/2023[3] 8/29/2023 8/29/2023 Postmarked
New Jersey 6/6/2023 6/6/2023 6/6/2023 Postmarked
Pennsylvania 5/16/2023 5/16/2023 5/16/2023 Received
Virginia 6/20/2023 6/20/2023 6/20/2023 Postmarked
Washington 8/1/2023 8/1/2023 8/1/2023 Postmarked
Wisconsin 2/21/2023 2/21/2023 2/21/2023 Received

Absentee/mail-in ballot return deadlines for 2023 general elections

The table below summarizes the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadlines and the type of deadlines for general elections in 2023.

Absentee/mail-in ballot return deadlines for general elections, 2023
State Election date In-person return deadline Mail return deadline Mail return deadline type
Kentucky 11/7/2023 11/7/2023 11/7/2023 Received
Louisiana 11/18/2023 11/17/2023 11/17/2023 Received
Mississippi 11/7/2023 11/7/2023 11/7/2023 Postmarked
Mississippi 11/28/2023[4] 11/28/2023 11/28/2023 Postmarked
New Jersey 11/7/2023 11/7/2023 11/7/2023 Postmarked
Pennsylvania 11/7/2023 11/7/2023 11/7/2023 Received
Virginia 11/7/2023 11/7/2023 11/7/2023 Postmarked
Washington 11/7/2023 11/7/2023 11/7/2023 Postmarked
Wisconsin 4/4/2023 4/4/2023 4/4/2023 Received

Absentee/mail-in voting procedures by state

The table below summarizes existing statutory absentee/mail-in voting procedures in the states.

Absentee/mail-in voting procedures by state
State Absentee/mail-in voting type Description
Alabama Request-required absentee/mail-in voting Excuse required.
Alaska Request-required absentee/mail-in voting No excuse required.
Arizona Request-required absentee/mail-in voting No excuse required.
Arkansas Request-required absentee/mail-in voting Excuse required.
California Automatic mail-in voting Every voter receives a mail-in ballot by default.
Colorado Automatic mail-in voting Every voter receives a mail-in ballot by default.
Connecticut Request-required absentee/mail-in voting Excuse required.
Delaware Request-required absentee/mail-in voting Excuse required.
Florida Request-required absentee/mail-in voting No excuse required.
Georgia Request-required absentee/mail-in voting No excuse required.
Hawaii Automatic mail-in voting Every voter receives a mail-in ballot by default.
Idaho Request-required absentee/mail-in voting No excuse required.
Illinois Request-required absentee/mail-in voting No excuse required.
Indiana Request-required absentee/mail-in voting Excuse required.
Iowa Request-required absentee/mail-in voting No excuse required.
Kansas Request-required absentee/mail-in voting No excuse required.
Kentucky Request-required absentee/mail-in voting Excuse required.
Louisiana Request-required absentee/mail-in voting Excuse required.
Maine Request-required absentee/mail-in voting No excuse required.
Maryland Request-required absentee/mail-in voting No excuse required.
Massachusetts Request-required absentee/mail-in voting No excuse required.
Michigan Request-required absentee/mail-in voting No excuse required.
Minnesota Request-required absentee/mail-in voting No excuse required.
Mississippi Request-required absentee/mail-in voting Excuse required.
Missouri Request-required absentee/mail-in voting Excuse required.
Montana Request-required absentee/mail-in voting No excuse required.
Nebraska Request-required absentee/mail-in voting No excuse required.
Nevada Automatic mail-in voting Every voter receives a mail-in ballot by default.
New Hampshire Request-required absentee/mail-in voting Excuse required.
New Jersey Request-required absentee/mail-in voting No excuse required.
New Mexico Request-required absentee/mail-in voting No excuse required.
New York Request-required absentee/mail-in voting No excuse required.
North Carolina Request-required absentee/mail-in voting No excuse required.
North Dakota Request-required absentee/mail-in voting No excuse required.
Ohio Request-required absentee/mail-in voting No excuse required.
Oklahoma Request-required absentee/mail-in voting No excuse required.
Oregon Automatic mail-in voting Every voter receives a mail-in ballot by default.
Pennsylvania Request-required absentee/mail-in voting No excuse required.
Rhode Island Request-required absentee/mail-in voting No excuse required.
South Carolina Request-required absentee/mail-in voting Excuse required.
South Dakota Request-required absentee/mail-in voting No excuse required.
Tennessee Request-required absentee/mail-in voting Excuse required.
Texas Request-required absentee/mail-in voting Excuse required.
Utah Automatic mail-in voting Every voter receives a mail-in ballot by default.
Vermont Automatic mail-in voting (general elections only) Every voter receives a mail-in ballot by default.
Virginia Request-required absentee/mail-in voting No excuse required.
Washington Automatic mail-in voting Every voter receives a mail-in ballot by default.
West Virginia Request-required absentee/mail-in voting Excuse required.
Wisconsin Request-required absentee/mail-in voting No excuse required.
Wyoming Request-required absentee/mail-in voting No excuse required.

Local elected officials


U.S. Vote Foundation Logo.jpeg

Do you need information about elections in your area? Are you looking for your local election official? Click here to visit the U.S. Vote Foundation and use their election official lookup tool.


Explore election legislation with Ballotpedia

  • Try Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker
    Try Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker
    Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker provides daily updates on legislative activity related to election policy in all 50 states.

    Our election policy experts translate complex bill text into easy-to-understand summaries. And because it's from Ballotpedia, our legislation tracker is guaranteed to be neutral, unbiased, and nonpartisan.
  • Read Ballotpedia's State of Election Administration Legislation Reports
    Read Ballotpedia's State of Election Administration Legislation Reports
    Ballotpedia publishes regular analysis of election administration legislation, including three full reports per year, providing ongoing coverage of legislative activity affecting election policy in each state.

    These reports deliver insights into partisan priorities, dive deep into notable trends, and highlight activity in key states.
  • Subscribe to The Ballot Bulletin

    Subscribe to The Ballot Bulletin
    The Ballot Bulletin is a weekly email that delivers the latest updates on election policy.

    The newsletter tracks developments in election policy around the country, including legislative activity, big-picture trends, and recent news. Each email contains in-depth data from our Election Administration Legislation Tracker.


Ballotpedia's election coverage

Click the tiles below to navigate to 2023 election coverage, or use the map below:


Footnotes

  1. National Conference of State Legislatures, "Absentee and Early Voting," July 30, 2019
  2. We use the term "absentee/mail-in voting" to describe systems in which requests or applications are required. We use the term "all-mail voting" to denote systems where the ballots themselves are sent automatically to all voters. We use the hyphenate term for absentee voting because some states use “mail voting” (or a similar alternative) to describe what has traditionally been called "absentee voting."
  3. Runoff election date
  4. Runoff election date