Election legislation tracking: Absentee/mail-in voting
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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.
On this page, you will find:
- Current absentee/mail-in voting legislation
- Absentee/mail-in voting bills enacted this year
- More information about absentee/mail-in voting laws in each state
The legislation on this page is curated through Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker. As election laws change, you can use the tracker to keep up with the latest developments in absentee/mail-in voting legislation in all 50 states. Use the bill search feature to view all all absentee/mail-in voting bills or filter for bills related to:
- Absentee/mail-in ballot administration
- Absentee/mail-in ballot deadlines
- Absentee/mail-in ballot request processes
- Absentee/mail-in ballot return processes
- Absentee/mail-in voting eligibility
- Automatic mail-in ballots
- Drop-box availability
- Permanent absentee/mail-in ballot lists
Absentee/mail-in voting legislation
The table below lists bills related to absentee/mail in voting introduced during (or carried over to) each state's regular legislative session this year. The following information is included for each bill:
- State
- Bill number
- Official bill name or caption
- Most recent action date
- Legislative status
- Sponsor party
- Topics dealt with by the bill
Bills are organized by state and then by most recent action. The table displays up to 100 results. To view more bills, use the arrows in the upper-right corner. Clicking on a bill will open its page on Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker, which includes bill details and a summary.
Enacted bills
- See also: Enacted election legislation, 2025
States enacted 132 absentee/mail-in voting bills from 2022 to 2024. The embedded table below lists all bills enacted this year. For more information about election legislation proposed and enacted in 2024, visit our election legislation tracker.
- In 2022, state lawmakers enacted 38 absentee/mail-in voting bills.
- The states that approved the most bills in 2022 were New Jersey and Rhode Island, with four each.
- In 2023, state lawmakers enacted 62 absentee/mail-in voting bills.
- The state that approved the most bills in 2023 was Michigan, with eight bills.
- In 2024, state lawmakers enacted 31 absentee/mail-in voting bills.
- The state that approved the most bills in 2024 was Louisiana, with five bills.
- In 2025, state lawmakers have enacted the following bills related to absentee/mail-in voting:
Absentee/mail-in voting laws by state
The map and table below summarizes existing statutory absentee/mail-in voting procedures in the states.
| 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.[1] |
| 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. |
Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker categorizes bills into over 20 different topic areas. In addition to searching by topic, users can also search by one or all of the following criteria:
- State
- Date
- State trifecta status
- Partisan sponsorship
- Legislative status
Click on the topics below to explore legislation in some of our other election-related topic areas.
Early voting
Election dates and deadlines
Election Day voting
Ranked-choice voting
Redistricting
Voter registration
Explore election legislation with Ballotpedia
Try Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation TrackerBallotpedia'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 ReportsBallotpedia 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.
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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.
See also
External links
- ↑ In November 2024, voters approved a constitutional amendment authorizing the Connecticut State Legislature to provide by law for no-excuse absentee voting. As of October 2025, the legislature has not passed legislation to implement the change.
