How do states verify absentee/mail-in ballots? (2022)
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Absentee/mail-in voting 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 voting, and all states establish mechanisms for verifying the validity of absentee/mail-in ballots. This article summarizes three of the most common verification mechanisms:
Signature verification requirements
All states require voters to provide valid signatures on their absentee/mail-in ballot return documents. Twenty-seven states have statutory provisions for verifying the signatures on returned absentee/mail-in ballots. These states are identified on the map below. States shaded in red are Republican trifectas. States shaded in blue are Democratic trifectas. States shaded in dark gray have divided governments. The remaining states do not have statutory provisions for verifying the signatures on returned absentee/mail-in ballots.
Witness requirements
A witness requirement is a rule requiring a voter to have another individual witness the voter filling out his or her ballot and attesting that the person filling out the ballot is the voter to whom the ballot is addressed. States with witness requirements may require that the witness be a notary. Others allow any adult citizen to act as a witness for this purpose. The map below highlights states with witness requirements. States shaded in red are Republican trifectas. States shaded in blue are Democratic trifectas. States shaded in dark gray have divided governments. The remaining states do not witness requirements.
Ballot collection laws
Most states have laws permitting someone besides a voter to return the voter's absentee/mail-in ballot.[1][2]
- 25 states and D.C. permit someone chosen by the voter to return mail ballots on their behalf in most cases.
- 11 states specify who may return ballots (i.e., household members, caregivers, and/or family members) in most cases.
- 1 state explicitly allows only the voter to return the ballot.
- 13 states did not specify whether someone may return another's ballot.
Someone chosen by voter may return ballot
Twenty-five states and D.C. allow someone chosen by the voter to return their ballot.
Specific people may return ballot
Eleven states specify who may return ballots on behalf of voters. Many of these laws specify that household members, caregivers, and/or family members may return ballots.
Only the voter may return ballot
One state specifies that only the voter may return their mail ballot.
Unspecified
Thirteen states do not have laws specifying whether someone may return ballots on behalf of voters.
See also
- Ballotpedia's 2022 Election Help Desk: Processing and counting absentee/mail-in ballots
- Absentee/mail-in voting
Footnotes
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "VOPP: Table 10: Who Can Collect and Return an Absentee Ballot Other Than the Voter," August 8, 2020
- ↑ Ballotpedia used a different method than the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) in compiling this analysis. We categorized states according to which broadly specified certain groups of individuals who may return mail ballots for most voters. NCSL's categories included states specifying that family members may return ballots and those that did not so specify.
