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Ballotpedia's 2020 Election Help Desk: Processing and counting absentee/mail-in ballots
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The 2020 election took place against a backdrop of uncertainty. Our readers had questions about what to expect in elections at all levels of government, from the casting of ballots to the certification of final results. Ballotpedia's 2020 Election Help Desk was designed to answer those questions. 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] For more information on the absentee/mail-in voting, including specific information for the 2020 election, click here. If you have a question you'd like to see answered, contact our team.
Frequently asked questions related to processing and counting absentee/mail-in ballots include:
- What happens if I vote by mail and want to change my ballot at a later date?
- What happens if someone votes by mail and then tries to vote in person?
- Do absentee/mail-in ballots take longer to count than in-person ballots?
- How do states protect and verify absentee/mail-in ballots?
- Are results reported on election night coming from in-person or absentee/mail-in votes?
- Do states report how many mail-in/absentee ballots are outstanding on election night?
Click here to return to the Help Desk to explore additional questions related to the 2020 election.
As always, if you need to know what is on your ballot in November 2020, click here to use our sample ballot lookup tool.
What is the life cycle of an absentee/mail-in ballot?
The absentee/mail-in voting process encompasses several stages. The "life cycle" of an absentee/mail-in ballot can be divided into three stages: obtaining a ballot, returning a ballot, and processing/counting the ballot. What happens in each of these stages? Click here to find out.
What happens if I vote by mail and want to change my ballot at a later date?
Voters can submit their ballots four to six weeks in advance in some cases. What if a candidate drops out, or a voter otherwise changes his or her mind on a particular topic? Is he or she able to change the vote on the submitted ballot? Click here to find out.
What happens if someone votes by mail and then tries to vote in person?
Voters who have already voted through an absentee/mail-in ballot may also try to go to the polls on election day to vote in-person or confirm that their ballot has been received and counted. What would likely happen in this case? Can a voter cast a second ballot in-person after already voting by mail? Click here to find out.
Do absentee/mail-in ballots take longer to count than in-person ballots?
Before election officials can count an absentee/mail-in ballot, they must receive and process that ballot to confirm the voter's identity and eligibility to vote. Several factors determine how quickly election officials are able to process, count, and report votes from absentee/mail-in ballots. Click here to learn more about how this affects the time it takes to report absentee/mail-in ballots.
How do states protect and verify absentee/mail-in ballots?
All states establish mechanisms for verifying the validity of absentee/mail-in ballots. These mechanisms include signature matching, which is a process wherein an election official checks the signature included on absentee/mail-in ballot return paperwork with a signature on file, and witness/notary requirements. States also enforce ballot collection laws to regular who can return a voter's ballot on the voter's behalf. Click here to learn more about each of these verification measures.
How do election workers match signatures?
Several states require election workers to match signatures to verify a ballot's validity. Signature matching is a process wherein an election official checks the signature included on absentee/mail-in ballot return paperwork with a signature on file. Election workers do this using a variety of handwriting analysis techniques. Click here to learn more about these techniques.
Are results reported on election night coming from in-person or absentee/mail-in votes?
According to one projection, voters will cast 80 million absentee/mail-in votes during the 2020 election, more than double the number cast in 2016.[2] Will election results reported on election night include absentee votes? Click here to find out.
Do states report how many mail-in/absentee ballots are outstanding on election night? (2020)
Not all states will complete the counting of absentee votes on election night.[3] Voters and journalists may be interested in data on outstanding absentee ballots for its potential to shed light on when we are likely to know the outcome of elections. What types of information do states make available about outstanding absentee/mail-in ballots? Click here to find out.
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