Life cycle of an absentee/mail-in ballot (2020)
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Absentee/mail-in voting does not happen in person on Election Day, instead occurring another way (generally by mail). All states allow for some form of absentee/mail-in voting. Many implemented policies absentee/mail-in voting in 2020. Consequently, political pundits and other observers have estimated that 2020 will see historic rates of absentee/mail-in voting.
This article outlines the "life cycle" of an absentee/mail-in ballot, from a voter obtaining a ballot through the final tallying and disposition of ballots. This article is divided into the following sections, each of which corresponds with a phase in the absentee/mail-in voting process:
The graphic below summarizes these phases. Additional details are available below.
Obtaining a ballot
A voter can obtain an absentee/mail-in ballot in one of two ways: by submitting a request to election officials or, in the case of states that conduct their elections predominantly by mail, automatically.
Requesting an absentee/mail-in ballot
For the 2020 general election, all but nine states (which are discussed below) require a voter to submit a request or application form in order to receive an absentee/mail-in ballot. The table below outlines absentee/mail-in ballot request deadlines in each state, the District of Columbia, and the five permanently inhabited U.S. territories.
States that send ballots automatically
- See also: All-mail voting
For the 2020 general election, nine states – California, Colorado, Hawaii, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, and Washington – and the District of Columbia have opted to send absentee/mail-in ballots to all voters automatically, eliminating the need for submitting request or application forms.
Eligibility
The table below details eligibility requirements for absentee/mail-in voting in each state, the District of Columbia, and the five permanently inhabited U.S. territories.
Returning a ballot
Once a voter has received an absentee/mail-in ballot, he or she will need to return it by a fixed deadline in order to have it counted. A voter may be able to return the ballot in person or by mail. These deadlines and return options, which vary by state, are detailed in the table below.
Processing and counting returned ballots
Upon receiving completed absentee/mail-in ballots, election officials must first process the ballots before they can be counted. Processing generally entails verifying voter signatures and physically preparing ballots for tabulation. Processing practices can vary widely from state to state. Counting entails the actual tabulation of votes.
Verification processes
Election officials use verification processes to ensure that an absentee/mail-in ballot is valid. Verification processes include signature matching and witness requirements, both of which are detailed further below.
Signature requirements and signature matching
Witness requirements
Processing and counting dates
The table below details processing and counting deadlines by state.
More frequently asked questions about the 2020 election
Click on a question below to read the answer:
- General election information
- Who runs elections in the United States?
- Why do states have different election rules?
- What methods do states use to prevent election fraud?
- Do you have to vote for everything on your ballot?
- What happens if you mark outside the lines or use the wrong pen/pencil?
- What is a spoiled ballot?
- What is a write-in candidate?
- How can I check the status of my ballot?
- Can I take a ballot selfie?
- Presidential election
- What happens if a presidential candidate declares victory in the 2020 election before results are final?
- Can presidential candidates win the election if they have already conceded?
- What are the steps and deadlines for electing the President of the United States?
- What happens if there is a tie in the Electoral College?
- What are faithless electors in the Electoral College?
- What happens if a presidential nominee becomes incapacitated before the election?
- Can members of Congress object to Electoral College results?
- Processing and counting absentee/mail-in ballots
- What is the life cycle of an absentee/mail-in 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?
- How do states protect and verify absentee/mail-in ballots?
- How do election workers match signatures?
- 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?
- Do absentee/mail-in ballots take longer to count than in-person ballots?
- What happens if someone votes by mail-in ballot or absentee ballot and subsequently passes away before Election Day?
- Disputing election results
- How will election recounts work?
- How close does an election have to be to trigger an automatic recount?
- Can a candidate or voter request a recount?
- Who pays for recounts and contested elections?
- What are poll watchers?
- What does it mean to challenge a voter's eligibility, and who can do it?
- What is a redo election?
- Who can file election-related lawsuits?
- What are the reasons to call a redo election?
- Who can call a redo election?
- Can a redo be held for a presidential election?
- Transitions of power and taking office
- Who is the president if election results are unknown by January 20, 2021?
- Who serves in Congress if election results are unknown by January 2021?
- Who serves in a state or local government if election results are unknown?
- What happens if the winning presidential candidate becomes incapacitated before taking office?
- Articles about potential scenarios in the 2020 election
- U.S. Supreme Court actions affecting the November 3, 2020, general election
See also
- Absentee/mail-in voting, 2020
- When states can begin processing and counting absentee/mail-in ballots, 2020
- Voting in 2020
Related articles
- National Conference of State Legislatures, "Voting Outside the Polling Place: Absentee, All-Mail and other Voting at Home Options," September 24, 2020
- ProPublica, "Electionland 2020: Mail Ballot Challenges, Election Security, New Legislation and More," September 4, 2020
- The Heritage Foundation, "The Risks of Mail-In Voting," August 3, 2020
- U.S. PIRG, "Voting by mail is not only safe, it’s secure," June 17, 2020
- Bipartisan Policy Center, "Is Voting by Mail Safe and Reliable? We Asked State and Local Elections Officials," June 12, 2020
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The New York Times, "Two of These Mail Ballot Signatures Are by the Same Person. Which Ones?" October 7, 2020
- ↑ KPBS, "Need A Witness For Your Mail-In Ballot? New Pandemic Lawsuits Challenge Old Rules," June 1, 2020
- ↑ Chicago Tribune, "A requirement that a witness or notary public sign a ballot envelope in a handful of states, including presidential battlegrounds North Carolina and Wisconsin, is tripping up some early voters," September 25, 2020
- ↑ Texas allows jurisdictions with more than 100,000 people to begin counting after the end of early voting. All other jurisdictions wait until Election Day.
- ↑ See below: Ohio allows absentee/mail-in ballots to be scanned before Election Day but statute explicitly states this may only occur if the scanner can operate without tabulating or counting the votes on the ballots scanned.
- ↑ See below: Absentee/mail-in ballots may be deposited into the tabulator the day before the election. The tabulator is then turned on Election Day.
- ↑ See below: Kentucky statute allows absentee/mail-in ballots to be counted after all are processed. Kentucky is allowing absentee/mail-in ballots to be counted if they are postmarked on Election Day and received by Nov. 6.
- ↑ See below: New Mexico allows ballots to be inserted into vote-counting machines, registered, and retained before Election Day, but those ballots are not counted until after polls close.
- ↑ Syracuse.com, "Election 2020: Why is New York waiting until mid-November to open some ballots?" October 28, 2020
- ↑ [https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/10/13/us/politics/when-votes-counted.html The New York Times, "How Quickly Will Your Absentee Vote Be Counted? A State-by-State Timeline," October 21, 2020]
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Doug Kronaizl, Phone correspondence with the Utah Office of the Lieutenant Governor," Oct. 30, 2020
