How do states verify absentee/mail-in ballots? (2024)

Ballotpedia's 2024 Election Help Desk « 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 two common verification mechanisms:

• Signature requirements and signature matching
• Witness requirements

Signature verification requirements

See also: How do election workers match signatures? (2024)

The map below identifies the states requiring signature matching and allowing for remedying mismatches, those requiring signature matching not allowing for remedying mismatches, and those not requiring signature matching.

Absentee/mail-in voting witness requirements by state

See also: Absentee/mail-in voting witness requirements, 2024

See also

• Absentee/mail-in voting
• Absentee/mail-in voting eligibility
• How does absentee/mail-in voting work?
• Absentee/mail-in voting witness requirements
• How can I check the status of my ballot?
• 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?
• What happens if someone votes by absentee/mail-in ballot and dies before Election Day?
• Do absentee/mail-in ballots take longer to count than in-person ballots?
• How do election workers match signatures?
• Ballot curing rules by state
• When can states begin processing and counting absentee/mail-in ballots?
• Processing, counting, and challenging absentee/mail-in ballots in the states